US Politics Mega-thread - Page 2649

Sharia Law calls for a theocracy, it calls for violently pushing it's views on others. Apostasy is punishable by death under Sharia Law. I'm not entirely sure why m4ini seems to be trying to defend it, or at least that's what I felt following this conversation. Sharia is a guideline that spreads religion through violence.

I just don't understand how you think the two things practically match in sentiment if you think Sharia law is an actual religious legal system when 41% of those polled in the Center for Security Policy poll thought that Shariah is a guide to the personal practice of Islam, 25% thought it was a comprehensive program governing all aspects of a faithful Muslims' life, and only 11% said that it was the Muslim god Allah's law that must be followed and imposed worldwide.

High-stakes climate talks aiming to craft a global accord to combat climate change stumbled Friday with China and many other nations refusing to yield ground, forcing host France to extend the international summit by a day to overcome stubborn divisions.

The difficult talks will continue as diplomats try to overcome disagreements over how — or even whether — to share the costs of fighting climate change and shift to clean energy on a global scale.

Negotiators from more than 190 countries are trying to do something that's never been done: reach a deal for all countries to reduce man-made carbon emissions and cooperate to adapt to rising seas and increasingly extreme weather caused by human activity.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry zipped in and out of negotiation rooms as delegates broke into smaller groups overnight to iron out their differences. After talks wrapped up at nearly 6 a.m. (0500 GMT) Friday, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he is aiming for a final draft Saturday.

"There is still work to do ... things are going in the right direction," Fabius said." This represents all of the countries in the world and it's completely normal to take a bit of time, so we will shift it."

The two-week talks, the culmination of years of U.N.-led efforts for a long-term climate deal, had been scheduled to wrap up Friday. U.N. climate conferences often run past deadline, given the complexity and sensitivity of each word in an international agreement, and the consequences for national economies.

Negotiators from China, the U.S. and other nations are haggling over how to share the burden of fighting climate change. Some delegates said a new draft accord presented late Thursday by Fabius allowed rich nations to shift the responsibility to the developing world.

On December 11 2015 15:01 writer22816 wrote:


Everyone knows that the Christian right is a huge problem in this country, but some of your assertions are just baffling. Carson's beliefs are more dangerous than those of ISIS? Really? That evolution was inspired by Satan and that the earth is only 6000 years old are profoundly idiotic beliefs but they are not worse than thinking it's okay to rape women and kill infidels, not by any reasonable definition of 'dangerous'. Likewise Rubio's belief is remarkable in America but, as we've discussed over the last pages, is more or less the status quo in the Muslim world.

Also a big reason why the Christian right has been gaining ground is because people on the left have not only refused to address the problem of Islamic extremism but have steadfastly sought to silence any civilized discussion on the topic with cries of 'racism' and 'bigotry' and 'Islamophobia'. This leaves the field clear to people like Trump to mouth off with whatever garbage they want.

When he is president, Donald Trump declared upon receiving the endorsement of the New England Benevolent Police Association, a union representing police and corrections officers on Thursday, he will sign an executive order to make sure any person who kills a cop will get the death penalty.

‘‘I said that one of the first things I'd do in terms of executive order if I win will be sign a strong, strong statement that will go out to the country, out to the world, that anybody killing policemen, police woman, police officer, anybody killing a police officer, death penalty is going to happen, OK. Can't go. We can't let this go," Trump said at a hotel ballroom in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, after his meeting with the group, according to remarks and video posted by The Associated Press.

In an emailed statement released through his campaign after a private meeting with the New England group, Trump announced that he had won the association's support.

“I am incredibly honored to receive this endorsement. My entire life has been spent defending the police and the incredible job they do. Especially today, they will play an increasingly vital part in making our nation safe. With their support and hard work together we will Make America Great Again," he said.

His campaign's release stated that he "was the overwhelming choice by the entire association."

If Republican party bosses continue meeting to discuss how to derail Donald Trump at the convention, Trump won't be the only one to turn his back on the GOP. Now, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson says he'll leave too.

"If this was the beginning of the plan to subvert the will of the voters and replace them with the will of the political elite, I assure you Donald Trump will not be the only one leaving the party," Carson said in reference to a private dinner attended in Washington by 20 party officials including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus.

According to the report in the Washington Post, Republican leaders are preparing now for what to do if they get to the convention in July and Trump is still holding on to a major chunk of the primary vote, but has not become the clear nominee. The topic of the dinner was peculiar as Trump has been the clear frontrunner in the GOP primary for nearly five months.

"I pray that the report in the Post this morning was incorrect. If it is correct," Carson said. "If it is correct, every voter who is standing for change must know they are being betrayed. I won't stand for it," Carson said.

Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign is using psychological data based on research spanning tens of millions of Facebook users, harvested largely without their permission, to boost his surging White House run and gain an edge over Donald Trump and other Republican rivals, the Guardian can reveal.

A little-known data company, now embedded within Cruz’s campaign and indirectly financed by his primary billionaire benefactor, paid researchers at Cambridge University to gather detailed psychological profiles about the US electorate using a massive pool of mainly unwitting US Facebook users built with an online survey.

As part of an aggressive new voter-targeting operation, Cambridge Analytica – financially supported by reclusive hedge fund magnate and leading Republican donor Robert Mercer – is now using so-called “psychographic profiles” of US citizens in order to help win Cruz votes, despite earlier concerns and red flags from potential survey-takers.

Documents seen by the Guardian have uncovered longstanding ethical and privacy issues about the way academics hoovered up personal data by accessing a vast set of US Facebook profiles, in order to build sophisticated models of users’ personalities without their knowledge.

In the race to advance data-driven electioneering strategies pioneered by successive Obama campaigns, Cruz has turned to Cambridge Analytica for its unparalleled offering of psychological data based on a treasure trove of Facebook “likes”, allowing it to match individuals’ traits with existing voter datasets, such as who owned a gun.

Analysis of Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings shows Cruz’s campaign has paid Cambridge Analytica at least $750,000 this year. The “behavioural microtargeting” company has also received around $2.5m over the past two years from conservative Super Pacs to which Mercer or members of his family have donated.

On December 12 2015 00:58 Plansix wrote:
That article is way longer and people should read it. It is a little unnerving how willing Cruz is to gain an edge in race and profile people without approval. I will be interested to see if Facebook shuts them down, because I know Facebook has talked about the servicing being used for political profiling directly hurts them in marketing and retention.

On December 12 2015 01:05 Mohdoo wrote:


IMO, anything public on the internet has assumed permission. When someone decides to put something on the internet, it is essentially public record. And so ends the only point in my life that I can imagine myself defending Cruz.

On December 12 2015 01:05 Mohdoo wrote:


IMO, anything public on the internet has assumed permission. When someone decides to put something on the internet, it is essentially public record. And so ends the only point in my life that I can imagine myself defending Cruz.