Debunking the despicable 'false flag' theory on the mail bombs
Analysis by Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large
Campaign politics tends to be a lowest-common-denominator business. If something works -- no matter how loathsome or even untrue -- then it gets used. The end always justifies the means -- and the end is always and only winning.
And yet, even by that incredibly low bar, what some right-wing pundits have done in the wake of 10 mail pipe bombs being sent to prominent prominent Trump critics, Democratic politicians, party donors and CNN's New York office is astonishing. In short: They have suggested -- with zero evidence -- that is all one big hoax designed to help Democrats in the 2018 midterms, a classic "false flag" operation.
While talk radio host Rush Limbaugh was far from the only conservative to toy with this idea, he explained it best:
Indonesians fight for more 'smelly money' to bear life near Jakarta's landfill mountain
An estimated 18,000 families live near the huge site, and the capital city’s growing waste problem is making things worse
Indonesians living around one of the largest landfills in south-east Asia have called on the government to increase their compensation for tolerating the dump’s nauseating and notorious stink.
An hour’s drive from the sprawling Indonesian capital, much of the waste from Jakarta’s 10 million residents ends up in ever-growing mountains of trash that make up the Bantar Gebang landfill. It is the largest tip in the country, covering 110 hectares.
Atop the fetid mounds of waste, thousands eke out a living as rubbish pickers, spending their days with cane baskets on their backs, combing the landfill for plastic and rubbish to recycle or resell.
Calling Prophet Muhammad a pedophile does not fall within freedom of speech: European court
The ECHR ruled against an Austrian woman who claimed calling the Prophet Muhammad a pedophile was protected by free speech. The applicant claimed she was contributing to public debate.
An Austrian woman's conviction for calling the Prophet Muhammad a pedophile did not violate her freedom of speech, the European Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday.
The Strasbourg-based ECHR ruled that Austrian courts carefully balanced the applicant's "right to freedom of expression with the right of others to have their religious feelings protected, and served the legitimate aim of preserving religious peace in Austria."
Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s gun-toting ‘Messiah’ with a soft spot for dictatorship
The implosion of Brazil's scandal-riven political system has pushed the country's democracy to a cliff edge. Jair Bolsonaro, a nostalgic of military rule with little regard for women, minorities and the rule of law, may yet tip it over the brink.
You know a pro-business candidate feted by the markets poses a credible threat to democracy when The Economist – the authoritative voice of economic liberalism – endorses his leftist, union-backed opponent without batting an eye. In Bolsonaro’s case, to say his democratic credentials are questionable is an understatement.
Throughout his undistinguished career as a fringe lawmaker, the former army captain has been on record pillorying Brazilian democracy and praising the military junta that suppressed it between 1964 and 1985. He has promised to restore military-style law and order, name army men in top positions, and rewrite the history books on Brazil’s dictatorship, if – as is widely expected – he is elected to the presidency on Sunday.
Trump officials have barred health experts from helping end one of the worst Ebola outbreaks in history
“There’s a fear of a Benghazi-type situation, that Americans might be targeted.”
By
One of the largest Ebola outbreaks in history shows no signs of slowing — and the Trump administration barred US health experts who want to help at the outbreak’s epicenter in the Democratic Republic of Congo from traveling there.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials were working in Beni, the city that’s ground zero for the outbreak in eastern DRC, for a few days in late August and early September. Experts say that’s an unusually short period of time for infectious disease responses; CDC deployments usually last at least four weeks, and many run for several months.
But then the White House’s National Security Council (NSC) coordinated a government review of the security risks, involving representatives from multiple government agencies and departments. The review determined that CDC officials could not return to areas where militant attacks threaten security, including Beni. Stat News first reported on October 14 that the US had pulled out of the area.
Mail bombs: FBI investigators check Florida leads
The FBI has searched a mail facility near Miami, as investigators try to find who is behind a series of suspected explosive packages.
Devices have been sent to eight high-profile people, including ex-President Barack Obama and actor Robert De Niro.
Unnamed officials told US media that investigators believe at least one was sent from Florida.
The FBI have not released any details of their investigation.
Similar packages have also been sent to former Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, among others.
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