laugh Tablet world latest information and News

How Drake And Future Were Sued Over N9 Billion By Woman Who Was Allegedly Raped At Their Concert - Home of Entertainment, Gist and information

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 07:50:00 +0000

How Drake And Future Were Sued Over N9 Billion By Woman Who Was Allegedly Raped At Their Concert - Home of Entertainment, Gist and information

How 7 Content Marketing Toolkit Thatll Trip Can Help You Live a Better Life

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 10:22:00 +0000

Now is the time to get serious about your business; think like a journalist and a marketer and offer your audience content that is both interesting, useful, entertaining, and actionable.

This will also attract search engine visitors because Google likes sites that provide lots of value.

In this post, I’ve assembled the 7 best content marketing toolkit that will help you create better blog posts and triple your search traffic.

Let’s get started…

7 Content Marketing Toolkit That’ll Triple Your Search Traffic

1. Curata

Curata is a very powerful marketing tool designed for anyone who wants to take his or her content marketing campaign to the next level. It does not matter whether you’re a newbie or a professional; you can do a lot with Curata.

With the Curata content marketing platform (CMP), you can eliminate your content blind spots. Instead, you can create data-driven articles.

Typically, this excellent content marketing platform will help you achieve three major things:

Streamline your content production process.
Analyze marketing and sales pipeline impact.
Build a predictable content supply chain.

Curata is currently being used by all the major players in the industry, and that is why these companies are always head and shoulders above the rest with their content marketing campaigns.

Similarly, according to Curata, they can also help you fuel your content marketing plan by:

Using their self-learning engine to discover the best materials on the internet.
Easily organizing and contextualizing with just a few clicks.
Effortlessly publishing and promoting your content anytime. Anywhere.

The truth is, you absolutely need to test-drive this tool right away to see what impact it will make on your marketing efforts.

2. SEMRMUSH

This is my all-time favorite tool; I, along with many other successful internet marketers, could not live without it.

SEMRUSH will help you track your backlinks, your keywords, your brand mentions, and help you figure out the next move of your competitors.

With SEMRUSH you can quickly determine the type of blog posts that are working in your niche so you will know how to position yourself to create better content, attract quality backlinks, rank higher on SERPs, and beat your competitors.

When you sign up for SEMRUSH, you’re presented with:

Crawl Reports
Site SEO Audit
HTTPS Audit
KW Position Tracker
Content Explorer
Site Explorer
Find toxic backlinks
And many other tools…

This is one tool you should not neglect. With their 14 day free trial, you should check it out and see the miracles it will perform for you.

Browse SEMRUSH ( Offer: Take 14 days test drive)

3. Google Analytics

This is a free tool from Google that will allow you to track several aspects of your content marketing campaign.

I bet you already know how important it is to be keeping track of everything you’re doing; GA will enable you to find out when you’re doing it right and when you’re flopping.

Google Analytics will help you to know:

Which of your targeted keywords are driving the most traffic.
Where the majority of your traffic is coming from.
What type of content is doing well for you.
How much traffic your content is generating.

These metrics are super important as the answers will assist you to adjust your approach further later on.

If you’re not familiar with Google Analytics yet, I urge you to start getting used to it now because it’s one of the tools you will need throughout your internet marketing journey.

4. Hemingway Editor

You can’t attain great heights without creating top-notch, high-quality material; it’s just not possible.

Hemingway is a handy tool that will position you in the right direction, take you by the hand, and ensure you’re not creating crappy content.

It will show you all the things you need to do so your articles will be worth reading and worth linking to.

Consider it a content marketing “guider”.

What this editor will do for you is identify problems with your blog posts, giving you tips and suggestions on the necessary steps to take to fix the problems before posting/publishing your content.

Take a look at the screenshot below:

Notice the readability score on the right sidebar? That’s one of the major things you should always pay attention to when editing your content with Hemingway.

The higher the readability score, the better.

You should be more comfortable publishing your posts after applying all the suggestions given to you by the Hemingway editor.

The good news is that this excellent tool is free!

Check out Hemingway

Other tool that you should be using:

Grammarly *Helps in proof reading*

5. SocialPilot

Consistently creating epic content to inform, entertain, and educate your readers is definitely necessary, but is that all you should be doing?

Let me tell you, dishing out lots of content is rarely enough; in fact, it’s just one side of the coin. After creating that informational material, you also have to get it to as many people as possible.

If all you do is create content, then you need to work on your marketing strategy.

But if you’re like me and have no time to spend on social media promotion, you’ll need help.

What I love most about SocialPilot is its post scheduler. You can choose what and when you want to share and SocialPilot will automatically share your content across your social media platforms. They support Instagram & Pinterest as well.

What makes me a fan of SocialPilot is the feature of sending recurring tweets. When ever I publish a new post, I schedule them to be tweeted 10 times in coming 2-3 months. This saves a lot of time & also helps in driving consistent traffic from social media.

It doesn’t matter if you want to manage one or multiple social media accounts, SocialPilot will get it all done.

Start scheduling posts on Social Pilot

6. BuzzSumo

Content marketing platforms are divided into two different types:

Content marketing toolkit
Efficient content marketing toolkit

BuzzSumo falls into the second type. It’s so helpful that I use it every day.

As stated on the BuzzSumo homepage, this tool can help you to achieve two things:

Figure out the best performing content in any niche or industry.
Find top influencers in that niche to promote the content.

Anyone can use this tool as it does not require any particular skill. You just enter your keyword into the search box and the tool will take care of the rest.

Subscribe on Youtube

For example, if I want to find information on the phrase “social media marketing”, I will get the result:

You can use this information to discover what content performs best for your targeted keyword so you can create an even stronger article and get it to outrank your competitor’s.

After creating your material, you can also use BuzzSumo to see the people that shared and linked to your competitor’s content. You can contact those people and let them know you’ve got something better which they might also consider sharing and mentioning.

In a nutshell, this is how BuzzSumo will help.

7. Portent’s Content Idea Generator

I bet you already know the role that unique, compelling, and catchy headlines play in content marketing.

Your headlines/titles are what will determine if a visitor will stop to read your blog posts or not.

With Portent’s Content Idea Generator, you will never find it a daunting task to come up with a unique title for your blog posts.

Simply type in your target keyword, and the tool will provide you with a variety of compelling, enchanting, and unique titles that will force anyone to stop over and read your post.

Putting “social media marketing” in the search bar, you will see these titles:

If you’re not satisfied with the result, just click the refresh button and the tool will return another intriguing title.

Start using the Portent Content Idea Generator tool today and knock off boring and ineffective titles from your blog posts.

Great Tools For Content Marketing

You don’t have to possess any particular skill before you can produce the type of content that ranks high in the search engines.

You also don’t have to become a super human.

You only need to make use of tools that will make the process easy for you.

The Content Marketing Institute study of 2015 discovered that “about 30 percent of business2business marketers admitted they were effective at content marketing.” I bet you don’t want to be counted among the remaining 70%.

Try out any of these tools today, and see what difference it makes on your content marketing campaign. Remember, you can’t see any result if you don’t take action, so you need to take the bull by the horns right now and become a winner!

Which one of these tools do you like the best? Got another tool to add to this list? Let me know in the comments below!

Like this post? Don’t forget to share it!

Marine dog with cancer gets tear-filled farewell

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 09:20:00 +0000

Hundreds of people in Michigan came together to say a tear-filled final goodbye to a cancer-stricken dog who served three tours in Afghanistan with the U.S. Marines.

Cena the 10-year-old black lab received a hero's farewell Wednesday before being euthanized at the USS LST 393, a museum ship in Muskegon, and carried off in a flag-draped coffin.

Cena, who was recently diagnosed with terminal bone cancer, was a bomb-sniffer for the Marines until his retirement in 2014. The celebration for Cena was organized by his owner, Lance Cpl. Jeff Young, who was paired with the dog in 2009 and 2010 while on a combat tour in Afghanistan and who adopted him in 2014. Cena then became DeYoung's service dog to help him with his post-traumatic stress disorder.

"My whole adult life I've had Cena," DeYoung said. "When I was 19 overseas learning how to be responsible, I had Cena. And now I'm 27 and I'm having to say goodbye to one of the biggest pieces of my life."

DeYoung said he has carried Cena across rivers and thrown his body over him while under heavy fire from the Taliban. He said Cena kept DeYoung's body warm during cold desert nights, and comforted him when he lost seven friends in three weeks.

As part of the celebration, DeYoung took his dog on one last ride in a topless Jeep that was decorated and named "Cancer Response Team."

"It started off with my basically wanting to go to a dealership and wanting to borrow a Jeep for a day and really small to a community tribute or a community parade for him and he's truly deserved it all," DeYoung said. "The support, all the love people are giving him, he can see it and he can feel it."

The ceremony was attended by the U.S. Marine Corps League, Michigan State Police, Muskegon County Sheriff's Office, Muskegon City Police, Muskegon Fire Department and officers from several other departments, including a canine officer named Rex. Attendees gave one final three-volley salute with "Taps" playing in the background for Cena, who was wearing a decorated blue Marine vest.

"Lord, it is with heavy hearts that we are sending another Marine to you today," said chaplain Wesley Spyke as he addressed the crowd in prayer.

A GoFundMe page was set up for donations to help build a headstone for Cena.

"Any dog that served overseas deserves exactly what I've done for Cena, if not more," DeYoung said.

Health Care Debate: Obamacare Repeal Fails as McCain Casts Decisive No Vote

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 08:57:00 +0000

• The Senate rejected legislation to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act, with Senator John McCain casting a decisive “no.”
• Senate Republicans unveiled a “skinny repeal,” a narrow measure to roll back parts of the Affordable Care Act. It would leave 15 million more Americans without insurance next year, the Congressional Budget Office said.
• Speaker Ryan tried to reassure senators balking at the narrow bill, but he left the door open for “skinny” passage.
How Senators Voted On “Skinny” Repeal »
YES
NO
Republicans
49
3
Democrats
0
48
Total

Technorati Tags: News

49
51

Senate rejects scaled-down Obamacare repeal.

The Senate on Friday rejected a new, scaled-down Republican plan to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act, seemingly derailing the Republicans’ seven-year campaign to dismantle the health care law.
Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, cast a decisive vote to defeat the proposal, joining two other Republicans, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, in opposing it.
Continue reading the main story
ADVERTISEMENT
Continue reading the main story
The 49-51 vote was a huge setback for the majority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who has spent the last three months trying to devise a repeal bill that could win support from members of his conference. It was also a blow to President Trump, who lashed out.

Follow
Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
3 Republicans and 48 Democrats let the American people down. As I said from the beginning, let ObamaCare implode, then deal. Watch!
11:25 PM - Jul 27, 2017

7,5307,530 Retweets

19,75519,755 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy
The truncated Republican plan was far less than what Republicans once envisioned. Republican leaders, unable to overcome complaints from both moderate and conservative members of their caucus, said the skeletal plan was just a vehicle to permit negotiations with the House, which passed a much more ambitious repeal bill in early May.
The so-called “skinny” repeal bill, as it became known at the Capitol this week, would still have broad effects on health care. The bill would increase the number of people who are uninsured by 15 million next year compared with current law, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Premiums for people buying insurance on their own would increase by roughly 20 percent, the budget office said.
But President Trump backed it to the hilt, pressuring, cajoling and threatening wavering Republicans.
Shortly before the vote, he took to Twitter.

Follow
Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
Go Republican Senators, Go! Get there after waiting for 7 years. Give America great healthcare!
7:43 PM - Jul 27, 2017

9,5159,515 Retweets

41,65441,654 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy

McConnell unveils narrow Obamacare repeal bill.

Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, pulled in his sails on repealing the Affordable Care Act, and unveiled a more narrow measure that would:
REPEAL THE INDIVIDUAL MANDATE, which says that most Americans must have health insurance or pay a tax penalty.
REPEAL THE EMPLOYER MANDATE, which requires large employers to offer health insurance to their workers.
GIVE FLEXIBILITY TO STATES, making it much easier for them to waive federal requirements that health plans provide consumers with a minimum set of benefits like maternity care and prescription drugs.
EXPAND HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS, increasing the limit on contributions to such tax-favored accounts
DELAY A TAX ON MEDICAL DEVICES.
INCREASE FUNDS FOR COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS.

DOCUMENT

Read the Senate
‘Skinny Repeal’ Bill

Republicans on Thursday released a narrow measure to roll back parts of the Affordable Care Act.

OPEN DOCUMENT

C.B.O.: ‘Skinny’ bill would leave 15 million more uninsured.

The Congressional Budget Office said the latest, more narrow bill to dismantle the Affordable Care Act would leave 15 million more Americans without insurance next year and would raise insurance premiums by about 20 percent over the next decade.
The measure would decrease federal budget deficits by about $179 billion over a decade, according to the budget office.
HEALTH CARE IN AMERICA By A.J. CHAVAR and DREW JORDAN 1:12What Is the Health Care ‘Vote-a-Rama?’
Video

What Is the Health Care ‘Vote-a-Rama?’

Jonathan Weisman, deputy Washington editor for The Times, explains the voting and amendment process that the bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act must go through next.
By A.J. CHAVAR and DREW JORDAN on Publish DateJuly 27, 2017.Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images.Watch in Times Video »

Embed

Ryan tried to calm Senate nerves.

With senators pleading for reassurance, Speaker Paul D. Ryan did his best.

“If moving forward requires a conference committee, that’s something the House is willing to do. The reality, however, is that repealing and replacing Obamacare still ultimately requires the Senate to produce 51 votes for an actual plan.”

He then said whatever compromise comes out of the House-Senate conference would have to pass the Senate first before the House picks it up.
View image on Twitter

Follow
Seung Min Kim
✔@seungminkim
BREAKING: @SpeakerRyan says "If moving forward requires a conference committee, that is something the House is willing to do."
4:29 PM - Jul 27, 2017

2323 Retweets

1616 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy
That was not all that reassuring. If the Senate failed to pass that conference agreement, the House could have still passed the Senate’s “skinny repeal” and sent it to President Trump for the signing ceremony he desperately wants.
That was decisive for Mr. McCain.

now
Frank Thorp V
✔@frankthorp
McCain leaving the Capitol asked why he voted NO: "I thought it was the right thing to do."

Follow
Frank Thorp V
✔@frankthorp
Here is McCain's FULL STATEMENT on his NO vote: pic.twitter.com/ADRblPPzaf
11:31 PM - Jul 27, 2017

203203 Retweets

279279 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy

“Creepy Billionaires.”

That’s who Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, said were dictating the terms of the latest Republican health care bill. It does have a ring to it — could be a rock band.

Three Republicans: No ‘yes’ votes without assurances of a conference.

HEALTH CARE IN AMERICA By ROBIN STEIN, NATALIE RENEAU and ROBIN LINDSAY 2:16The G.O.P.’s Health Care Hail Mary: ‘Skinny Repeal’
Video

The G.O.P.’s Health Care Hail Mary: ‘Skinny Repeal’

Margot Sanger-Katz, a New York Times correspondent, explains the implications of a new, more narrow health care bill Republicans are working on.
By ROBIN STEIN, NATALIE RENEAU and ROBIN LINDSAY on Publish DateJuly 26, 2017. Photo by Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times. Watch in Times Video »

Embed

Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, John McCain of Arizona and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin declared Thursday evening that they would not vote for a slimmed-down partial repeal of the Affordable Care Act that is being pushed by Senate leaders without ironclad guarantees that the House will negotiate a comprehensive measure.
The senators were unsparing in their criticism of the so-called skinny repeal, which would repeal the mandates that most individuals have health insurance and large employers cover their employees but leave most of the health law in place. Such a bill would crater the health insurance market and send premiums skyward, they said.
“The skinny bill as policy is a disaster,” Mr. Graham said. “The skinny bill as a replacement for Obamacare is a fraud.”

GRAPHIC

How Many People
Across America
Are at Risk of
Losing Their
Health Insurance?

A state-by-state look at who could lose insurance under the proposed Republican health care plans.

OPEN GRAPHIC
Senator Johnson said: “The skinny bill in the Senate doesn’t come close to meeting our promises.”
But they feared that House Republican leaders could just take the stripped-down bill, pass it and send it to President Trump.
“Right now, I am voting no,” Mr. McCain said.
Mr. Graham was emphatic.
“I need assurances from the speaker of the House and his team that if I vote for the skinny bill, then it will not be the final product,” Mr. Graham said. “I’m not going to vote for a pig in a poke.”
Continue reading the main story
Photo

From left, Senators Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, John McCain of Arizona and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, all Republicans, spoke about the “skinny repeal” bill on Thursday.CreditJustin Gilliland/The New York Times
Mr. Ryan’s assurances may just win the night. For all his bluster, Mr. Graham said he would trust the speaker.

Follow
Lauren Gambino
✔@laurenegambino
Graham is a yes on the skinny repeal. He says he's been assured there is no appetite to take up the skinny bill in the house.
6:37 PM - Jul 27, 2017 · Washington, DC

4444 Retweets

1414 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy
Sen. Johnson also looked like a yes.
But Mr. McCain was holding out.

Follow
Lauren Gambino
✔@laurenegambino
Graham says that McCain is upset by the process. "Whatever he does, he's earned the right to do it."
6:41 PM - Jul 27, 2017 · Washington, DC

4444 Retweets

133133 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy

Senate Republicans trim sails on ‘Repeal and Replace.’

The turmoil came as Senate Republicans, unable to reach consensus on broad legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, looked instead at chipping away at it.
Besides the mandates, Senator David Perdue, Republican of Georgia, said the other item under discussion for the so-called Skinny Repeal is rolling back a tax on medical devices imposed by the health law.
But to avoid a 60-vote threshold for passage, the bill must meet specific deficit reduction targets. It’s still not clear how those targets will be reached.
Then there’s the question of what would come next. Republican leaders are assuring senators that the narrow repeal would be merely a vehicle to begin negotiations with House Republicans on a broader compromise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. But some senators worry that they are being asked to vote for legislation they don’t like on a promise that it won’t become law — but they have no guarantee that the House won’t take it up and pass it.

Follow
Cameron Joseph
✔@cam_joseph
.@SenJohnMcCain on House just passing the skinny repeal bill: "I'm very worried about it and I would be worried about the product."
10:42 AM - Jul 27, 2017

234234 Retweets

372372 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy

This might not have helped.

As Republican senators seek assurances that the bill they are being asked to vote on won’t become law, the House majority leader, Kevin McCarthy of California, may have sent shivers down a spine or two in the upper chamber with this announcement.

“While last votes are currently scheduled to take place tomorrow, Members are advised that — pending Senate action on health care — the House schedule is subject to change. All Members should remain flexible in their travel plans over the next few days. Further information regarding potential additional items will be relayed as soon as possible.”

That doesn’t sound like a man preparing for lengthy House-Senate negotiations on a comprehensive health care bill. So maybe the “skinny repeal” could become law after all?

Parliamentarian takes another scalp.

Senate Republicans also would have liked the “skinny repeal” to include a measure that would make it much easier for states to waive federal requirements that health insurance plans provide consumers with a minimum set of benefits like maternity care and prescription drugs.
Then the Senate parliamentarian stepped in. The parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, objected on Thursday to the waiver provision, saying it appeared to violate Senate rules being used to speed passage of the bill to repeal much of the Affordable Care Act.
Republicans want to make it easier for states to get waivers for two reasons: State officials can regulate insurance better than federal officials, they say, and the federal standards established by the Affordable Care Act have driven up insurance costs.
But Republicans are learning the limits of the fast-track rules they are using. The Senate is considering the repeal bill under special procedures that preclude a Democratic filibuster, but the procedures also limit what can be included in the bill.
“The function of reconciliation is to adjust federal spending and revenue, not to enact major changes in social policy,” said Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont. “The parliamentarian’s latest decision reveals once again that Republicans have abused the reconciliation process in an attempt to radically change one-sixth of the American economy by repealing the Affordable Care Act.”
The Senate bill would give states sweeping new authority to opt out of federal insurance standards established by the Affordable Care Act. It builds on a section of the law that allows states to obtain waivers for innovative health programs. But it would relax many of the requirements for such waivers that Democrats put into the law, signed by President Barack Obama in 2010.

Insurers come off sidelines with warning.

The health insurance lobby, America’s Health Insurance Plans, came off the sidelines on Thursday to warn Senate leaders against repealing the Affordable Care Act’s mandate that most Americans have insurance without approving some mechanism to pressure people to maintain their coverage.
“We would oppose an approach that eliminates the individual coverage requirement, does not offer continuous coverage solutions, and does not include measures to immediately stabilize the individual market,” the group wrote.
AHIP played a major role in getting the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010 but has been reluctant to intervene in the fight over its repeal. On Wednesday, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, a narrower insurance lobby, weighed in with a similar warning.
Both groups were pulled into the fray by expectations that the Senate could end up voting in the early morning hours of Friday on a narrow bill that repeals a few important parts of the Affordable Care Act but leaves much of the law in place. Two of the pieces that would be repealed are the mandates that individuals have health insurance and that large employers cover their employees. The Senate had intended to repeal those mandates but create a new rule that anyone who allows coverage to lapse would have to wait six months before getting a new policy.
That lock out period was supposed to be enough to convince people not to simply wait until they were sick to buy insurance, a prospect that could send insurance markets into a tailspin, since only sick people would have insurance.

GRAPHIC

The “Skinny”
Repeal Republicans
Hope to Pass Would
Leave Huge
Numbers Uninsured

This chart shows what a narrower repeal would do.

OPEN GRAPHIC
But it looks certain that any bill that can emerge from the Senate would not have the lock out provision, a deep concern to insurers who say that without it, insurance premiums would soar.

The American Medical Association piles on.

The American Medical Association, by far the largest physicians’ advocacy group, has stood firmly against each of the bills to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Now the A.M.A. has come out against the “skinny repeal.”

“There has been considerable speculation regarding a so-called ‘skinny package’ that would primarily eliminate penalties related to the individual and employer mandates and provide tax cuts to device manufactures and the health insurance industry. Eliminating the mandate to obtain coverage only exacerbates the affordability problem that critics say they want to address. Instead, it leads to adverse selection that would increase premiums and destabilize the individual market.
“We again urge the Senate to engage in a bipartisan process – through regular order – to address the shortcomings of the Affordable Care Act and achieve the goal of providing access to quality, affordable health care coverage to more Americans.”

Oh, and so does AARP.

Protesters make their voices known.

Photo

Capitol Police officers stopped a group of protesters on Thursday. CreditTom Brenner/The New York Times
Across the Capitol on Thursday, supporters of the Affordable Care Act tried to reach out to senators, sometimes through mass protests, sometimes through their stories.
“I had epilepsy as a kid. I would not have been able to be covered under what you’re proposing,” one man told Senator Richard Shelby, Republican of Alabama.
The senator replied: “I think we need to have — not just for you but for any group that is underserved medically — we ought to protect them.”
Vigils broke out throughout the Capitol and around lawmakers’ offices.
Protesters in the Senate gallery chanting “kill the bill” disrupted proceedings on Tuesday just before the Senate voted, 51-50, to begin the health care debate. Democrats, including Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, spoke to crowds on the steps of the building. Hundreds of protesters flooded the lawns outside the Capitol.
“The message was: we are not backing down,” Nora Franco, campaign organizer at Planned Parenthood, said in the Capitol. She added, “Now is not the time to throw in the towel. Now is the time to literally be harassing your senators.”
Seven years ago, similar scenes unfolded before the votes on the Affordable Care Act, but then, the passion came from the opponents. Those voices now are little in evidence.

Has Alaska’s delegation crossed Trump?

President Trump went after Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who was one of only two Republicans to vote against starting debate on health care this week, with a Twitter post on Wednesday.
But that might not be the end of it.
Ryan Zinke, the Interior secretary, called both Ms. Murkowski and Alaska’s other senator, Dan Sullivan, “letting them know the vote had put Alaska’s future with the administration in jeopardy,” The Alaska Dispatch News reported. Mr. Sullivan, also a Republican, voted in favor of beginning debate.
“I’m not going to go into the details, but I fear that the strong economic growth, pro-energy, pro-mining, pro-jobs and personnel from Alaska who are part of those policies are going to stop,” Mr. Sullivan said, according to the newspaper.
But the leverage goes both ways.
Ms. Murkowski is the chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which has oversight of the Interior Department. She is also the chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over the department.
She likely can do more to Mr. Zinke than he can do to her.

Follow
Kasie Hunt
✔@kasie
DELAYED: Hearing to confirm a series of nominees to Zinke's Interior. Murkowski also controls Interior $$ via approps subcom chair
9:15 AM - Jul 27, 2017

2,5372,537 Retweets

7,9287,928 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy
Tracked down by reporters on Capitol Hill, Mr. Sullivan called for the administration and Alaska’s small but powerful congressional delegation to “get back to cooperation.”

Follow
Vaughn Hillyard
✔@VaughnHillyard
Alaska Sen. Sullivan responds, today, to call with Zinke --> "Sooner we can get back to cooperation...better it's going to be for Alaska."
9:52 AM - Jul 27, 2017

1616 Retweets

99 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy
No word yet from Ms. Murkowski.

Where did the Senate leave off on Wednesday?

Wednesday’s big vote was on a measure to repeal major parts of the existing health law — but without swapping in something new.
Republicans have struggled to agree on the contents of a replacement for the law, so a “clean repeal” bill seemed like a good alternative to some of them.
But the measure was soundly rejected. Seven Republicans — including Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, the chairman of the Senate health committee — joined Democrats in voting against it.
The repeal-only measure was expected to fail. But the episode demonstrated the problem facing Republican leaders: They don’t have enough votes to pass a broad replacement of the health law. They also don’t have the votes to simply repeal major parts of it.

GRAPHIC

The Outcomes of
the Many Republican
Health Plans Are
Not So Different

Comparing how the plans would affect key measures like the number of uninsured and the deficit.

OPEN GRAPHIC

What happens on Thursday?

Senate Republicans have been trying to push through a repeal by using special budget rules that limit debate to 20 hours. That time is expected to be exhausted on Thursday.
After it expires, the Senate will move into what is known as a “vote-a-rama” — a marathon series of votes on amendments.
Photo

Senator Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, leaving the Senate chamber after lawmakers on Wednesday rejected a proposal to repeal the health care law. CreditStephen Crowley/The New York Times
Typically, Democrats would be expected to offer a barrage of amendments. But on Wednesday night, the minority leader, Chuck Schumer of New York, said Democrats would not offer any amendments until Mr. McConnell revealed the final bill he wants the Senate to consider.
“We ought to see it soon, in broad daylight, not at the 11th hour,” Mr. Schumer said.

The vote-a-rama could begin late in the day on Thursday. If Democrats do offer a blizzard of amendments, it could stretch overnight. But it remains unclear when, exactly, Mr. McConnell plans to reveal his legislation.

How to Add YOAST-like-SEO Widget for Blogger/Blogspot Blog?

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 00:25:00 +0000

Note: This is the guide to configure the YOAST-like-SEO widget for Blogger/Blogspot Blog. This widget will improve the page ranks in all search engines including Google, Yahoo, Bing Search and Yandex and Boost your blog traffic.

How to Add YOAST-like-SEO Widget for Blogger/Blogspot Blog?

Whenever we talk about the best SEO plugin for WordPress, SEO by Yoast is the best plugin available. Many of you have heard about this plugin but unfortunately, There is no SEO plugin or Widget available for Blogger/BlogSpot blog.

YOAST-like-SEO widget is the set of scripts which will let the bot crawler to crawl your website daily. I’ve combined all the meta tags in this widget that search engine need to rank your website.

Features of YOAST-like-SEO widget

1- SEO friendly robots.txt file.

2- Meta tags in your blogger blog.

3- Optimize post title using H2 tag.

4- Shows Post title first in search results.

5- Search Engine Optimized Blogger labels.

6- Search Engine Optimized Blogger Archives.

7- Search Engine Optimized Blogger Comments.

8- Covert Title tags into Dynamic Title Tag.

9- Allow Bots to crawl your blog daily.

10- Helps you to get USA/Australia traffic.

11- Search Engine optimized for Twitter tweets.

12- Facebook Analytics for your blog.

13- Verify Google, Bing, Yandex.

Also, check,

How to Configure YOAST-like-SEO widget in your blog.

Step 1: Login to your Blogger Account > Template > Click Edit HTML

Step 2: Click on the Code Section, Press ctrl + F and Search for <head>

Step 3: Copy the codes below and Paste it below <head> tag.

<meta content=’Google Verification ID’ name=’google-site-verification’/>
<meta content=’Bing verification ID’ name=’msvalidate.01’/>
<meta content=’Yandex Verification ID’ name=’yandex-verification’/>
<meta content=’global’ name=’distribution’/>
<meta content=’1 days’ name=’revisit’/>
<meta content=’1 days’ name=’revisit-after’/>
<meta content=’document’ name=’resource-type’/>
<meta content=’all’ name=’audience’/>
<meta content=’general’ name=’rating’/>
<meta content=’all’ name=’robots’/><meta content=’index, follow’ name=’robots’/>
<meta content=’en-us’ name=’language’/>
<meta content=’Country, Country, Country’ name=’country’/>
<meta content=’fb id’ property=’fb:admins’/>
<meta content=’twitter id’ name=’twitter:site’/>
<meta content=’email id’ name=’email’/>
<link href=’google plus link to your posts’ rel=’publisher’/>
<META charset=’utf-8’/>
<META content=’width=device-width, initial-scale=1′ name=’viewport’/>
<META content=’blogger’ name=’generator’/>
<META content=’text/html; charset=UTF-8′ http-equiv=’Content-Type’/>
<LINK href=’http://www.blogger.com/openid-server.g’ rel=’openid.server’/>
<LINK expr:href=’data:blog.homepageUrl’ rel=’openid.delegate’/>
<LINK expr:href=’data:blog.url’ rel=’canonical’/>
<b:if cond=’data:blog.pageType == "index"’>
<TITLE><data:blog.pageTitle/></TITLE>
<b:else/>
<b:if cond=’data:blog.pageType != "error_page"’>
<TITLE><data:blog.pageName/> – <data:blog.title/></TITLE>
</b:if></b:if>
<b:if cond=’data:blog.pageType == "error_page"’>
<TITLE>Page Not Found – <data:blog.title/></TITLE>
</b:if>
<b:if cond=’data:blog.pageType == "archive"’>
<META content=’noindex’ name=’robots’/>
</b:if>
<b:if cond=’data:blog.searchLabel’>
<META content=’noindex,nofollow’ name=’robots’/>
</b:if>
<b:if cond=’data:blog.isMobile’>
<META content=’noindex,nofollow’ name=’robots’/>
</b:if>
<b:if cond=’data:blog.pageType != "error_page"’>
<META expr:content=’data:blog.metaDescription’ name=’description’/>
<b:if cond=’data:blog.homepageUrl != data:blog.url’>
<META expr:content=’data:blog.pageName + ", " + data:blog.pageTitle + ", " + data:blog.title’ name=’keywords’/>
</b:if></b:if>
<b:if cond=’data:blog.url == data:blog.homepageUrl’>
<META content=’Clean and Responsive Blogger Template, SEO Friendly, HTML5, Personal Blog’ name=’keywords’/></b:if>
<LINK expr:href=’data:blog.homepageUrl + "feeds/posts/default"’ expr:title=’data:blog.title + " – Atom"’ rel=’alternate’ type=’application/atom+xml’/>
<LINK expr:href=’data:blog.homepageUrl + "feeds/posts/default?alt=rss"’ expr:title=’data:blog.title + " – RSS"’ rel=’alternate’ type=’application/rss+xml’/>
<LINK expr:href=’"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/" + data:blog.blogId + "/posts/default"’ expr:title=’data:blog.title + " – Atom"’ rel=’alternate’ type=’application/atom+xml’/>
<b:if cond=’data:blog.pageType == "item"’>
<b:if cond=’data:blog.postImageThumbnailUrl’>
<LINK expr:href=’data:blog.postImageThumbnailUrl’ rel=’image_src’/>
</b:if></b:if>
<!– [ Social Media Meta Tag ] –>
<b:if cond=’data:blog.url == data:blog.homepageUrl’>
<b:if cond=’data:blog.pageType == "item"’>
<b:if cond=’data:blog.pageType == "static_page"’>
<b:if cond=’data:blog.url’>
<META expr:content=’data:blog.url’ property=’og:url’/>
</b:if>
<META expr:content=’data:blog.title’ property=’og:site_name’/>
<b:if cond=’data:blog.pageName’>
<META expr:content=’data:blog.pageName’ property=’og:title’/>
</b:if></b:if></b:if></b:if>
<META expr:content=’data:blog.pageTitle’ property=’og:title’/>
<b:if cond=’data:blog.pageType == "item"’>
<META content=’article’ property=’og:type’/>
<b:else/>
<META content=’website’ property=’og:type’/>
</b:if>
<META expr:content=’data:blog.canonicalUrl’ property=’og:url’/>
<b:if cond=’data:blog.postImageUrl’>
<META expr:content=’data:blog.postImageUrl’ property=’og:image’/>
<b:else/>
<b:if cond=’data:blog.postImageThumbnailUrl’>
<META expr:content=’data:blog.postThumbnailUrl’ property=’og:image’/>
<b:else/>
<META expr:content=’data:blog.blogspotFaviconUrl’ property=’og:image’/>
</b:if></b:if>
<b:if cond=’data:blog.metaDescription’>
<META expr:content=’data:blog.metaDescription’ property=’og:description’/>
<b:else/>
<META content=’xxxxx’ property=’og:description’/>
</b:if>

How to Customize YOAST-like-SEO widget

Replace Blog Title with your blog title.

For example, My Blog title is Digitally Indian
Replace Blog Description with the description of your blog.

For Example, Description of my blog is Blog tips to help you make money blogging
Replace Meta Keywords, Keywords, Keywords with keywords which are relevant to your niche.
Replace Google, BING and Yandex verification IDs with your own respective verification IDs which you can get when you signup for them.
Replace FB, Twitter IDs with your IDs.
Replace Your Email with your registered Email ID.

For Example, My Email id is admin@digitallyindian.com.
Replace Google Plus ID with your ID.

Now Click SAVE Template.

You have successfully configured YOAST-like-SEO widget to your blogger/BlogSpot blog.

The Whole Configuration will not take more than 5 minutes, but this small change will improve the overall SEO score of your blog increase organic traffic but Remember that this YOAST-like-SEO widget is of no value if your blog doesn’t have high-quality contentso, keep writing High-Quality Content and add this YOAST-like-SEO widget to your blog to attract more organic Traffic.

Do Check,

Bride and groom fall off back of luxury car

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Thu, 27 Jul 2017 17:29:00 +0000

It wasn’t funny at all for a bride and groom and their guests after the couple fell off a car driving them to their happily ever after just after their wedding reception. But in hind sight, it makes for a good laugh. At the close of their wedding, bride Hana Haka Noland and her new husband Tyler Noland balanced (or so it seemed) on the back seats of a convertible and waved goodbye to their guests. But as the car pulled away, the newlyweds fell flat out of the car.

Before the vehicle moved, the excited honeymoon bound bride is seen throwing her hands in the air and calling on the driver to move it. “Leggo Dave!" she screamed.

It takes a few moments for the whole thing to register with the guests, who seem to stand among the pair in total disbelief.

Neither the bride nor groom were hurt and flew away on their honeymoon the next day - with both of them now finding the situation, entirely caught on video, absolutely hilarious.

"Now that it's been a few weeks, we can look back at this and laugh," Hana wrote on Facebook. "After all, if you can't laugh at yourself who can you laugh at? Thankfully no one was hurt and we love Dave so much." She added the hashtags #LEGGODAVE #HowNotToExitAWedding #StillTheBestWeddingEver #FastForwardOneMinute #FeelFreeToShare #AlwaysWreckinEm.

Why you can't fly direct from Delhi to Islamabad

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 23:47:00 +0000

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

As India and Pakistan celebrate 70 years of independence, Andrew Whitehead looks at the lasting legacy of the Partition of British India, and the turmoil and trauma which marred the birth of the two nations.

It's about 700km (430 miles) from Delhi to Islamabad - less than the distance between London and Geneva. A short hop in aviation terms.

But you can't fly non-stop from the Indian capital to the Pakistani capital. There are no direct flights at all. It is only one of the legacies of seven decades of mutual suspicion and tension.

Take another example: cricket.

India and Pakistan played each other a few weeks ago in the final of the Champions' Trophy. Both countries are cricket crazy.

Partition of India in August 1947

Perhaps the biggest movement of people in history, outside war and famine.
Two newly-independent states were created - India and Pakistan.
About 12 million people became refugees. Between half a million and a million people were killed in religious violence.
Tens of thousands of women were abducted.
This article is the first in a BBC series looking at Partition 70 years on.

However, the game was played not in South Asia, but in London. India and Pakistan don't play cricket in each other's countries any more, although they have met in one-day matches around the world, including in countries in their region like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image captionIt's almost 10 years since India and Pakistan played a Test match on South Asian soil

But it is almost 10 years since they faced each other on South Asian soil in a Test match. Despite a lot of shared culture and history, they are not simply rivals, but more like enemies.

In the 70 years since India and Pakistan gained independence, they have fought three wars. Some would say four, although when their armies last fought in 1999, there was no formal declaration of war.

The simmering tension between India and Pakistan is one of the world's most enduring geopolitical fault lines. It has prompted both countries to develop their own nuclear weapons.

So the uneasy stand-off is much more than a regional dispute: it is fraught with wider danger.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image captionIndian nationalist leader Jawaharlal Nehru (l), Viceroy of India Lord Louis Mountbatten (c) and the president of the All-India Muslim League Muhammad Ali Jinnah (r) discuss Partition in 1947

India and Pakistan gained their independence at the same moment. British rule over India, by far its biggest colony, ended on 15 August 1947.

After months of political deadlock, Britain agreed to divide the country in two.

A separate and mainly Muslim nation, Pakistan, was created to meet concerns that the large Muslim minority would be at a disadvantage in Hindu-majority India.

This involved partitioning two of India's biggest provinces, Punjab and Bengal. The details of where the new international boundary would lie were made public only two days after independence.

Partition triggered one of the great calamities of the modern era, perhaps the biggest movement of people - outside war and famine - that the world has ever seen.

No one knows the precise numbers, but about 12 million people became refugees as they sought desperately to move from one newly independent nation to another.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image captionMuslim women board a train in Delhi to travel to Pakistan on 7 August 1947

Amid a terrible slaughter in which all main communities were both aggressors and victims, somewhere between half a million and a million people were killed.

Tens of thousands of women were abducted, usually by men of a different religion.

In Punjab in particular, where Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs had lived together for generations and spoke the same language, a stark segregation was brought about as Muslims headed west to Pakistan and Hindus and Sikhs fled east to India.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image captionAmritsar saw violent clashes in March 1947 between the city's Muslims, who wanted to be part of Pakistan, and its Sikh and Hindu population, who wanted to stay in India

This was not a civil war with battle lines and rival armies - but nor was it simply spontaneous violence.

On all sides, local militias and armed gangs planned how to inflict the greatest harm on those they had come to see as their enemies.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image captionAn estimated 2,000 were killed, and more than 4,000 injured in communal riots ahead of Partition in Kolkata (Calcutta) in 1946

Those wounds have been left to fester. No one has been held to account - there's been no reconciliation process - and for a long time, the full story of what happened has been smothered in silence.

Literature and cinema found ways of representing the horror of what happened. Historians initially focused on the politics of Partition. It took them much longer to turn their attention to the lived experience of this profound rupture.

How a jacket and a briefcase shaped a Partition love story

How India's 'Flying Sikh' went from Partition orphan to gold medallist

Big oral history projects have got under way only in the last few years, as the number of survivors dwindles. There are no towering memorials to the Partition dead.

The first museum devoted to Partition opened in 2016 in Amritsar in Indian Punjab.

Partition poisoned relations between India and Pakistan, and has shaped - many would say distorted - the geopolitics of South Asia as a whole.

Pakistan initially consisted of two wings 2,000km (1,240 miles) apart, but in 1971, East Pakistan gained its independence, with Indian military support. Another new nation, Bangladesh, was born.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image captionIndia and Pakistan have fought two wars over the Muslim-majority Kashmir, which both claim in full but control in part

Among the loose ends of the independence arrangement was the future of Kashmir, a princely state in the foothills of the Himalayas which had a largely Muslim population. The maharaja, a Hindu, decided his state should become part of India.

Within months, Indian and Pakistani troops were fighting each other for control of Kashmir.

The complex conflict remains unresolved and, more than any other issue, has bedevilled relations between the two countries.

Kashmir: Why India and Pakistan fight over it

India also accuses Pakistan of supporting militant organisations which have carried out terrorist-style attacks in Indian cities. Pakistan says India colludes with breakaway movements in areas such as Balochistan.

The political leaders of the two countries have met from time to time. There have been occasional hopes of a breakthrough in relations but, at the moment, relations are distinctly frosty.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image captionActivists burn a poster showing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during Mr Modi's visit to Pakistan in December 2015

The consequences have been far-reaching.

India has much more trade with countries such as Nigeria, Belgium or South Africa than with its neighbour to the west.

Although India's phenomenally successful Hindi-language film industry - known as Bollywood - is hugely popular in Pakistan, and Pakistan's TV soaps are eagerly watched in India, cultural links are fragile.

When tensions rise, which they do regularly, every aspect of relations suffers.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image captionAfter a backlash against his film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (Difficulties of the heart), Indian director Karan Johar pledged not to use Pakistani actors

Just a few months ago, one of India's leading film directors Karan Johar felt obliged to promise that he would never again cast a Pakistani actor in one of his movies.

The two countries are not well informed about what is happening on the other side of the border. No major Indian or Pakistani news organisation currently has a correspondent in the other country's capital.

For both Indians and Pakistanis, travelling to the other country is not easy - even if it is to visit family.

It is not the difficulty of getting a visa or the lack of direct flights between the two capital cities. There are very few air links between the two countries at all.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image captionThe elaborate daily closing ceremony at the India-Pakistan Wagah border crossing near Amritsar attracts many spectators on both sides

Despite a lengthy shared border, India and Pakistan have hardly any border crossings.

In Pakistan, the army and its intelligence wing are by far the most powerful institutions - and the country has had repeated spells of military rule.

The abiding sense of a military threat from its much larger neighbour has - many feel - boosted the power of the armed forces and hindered the development of a mature democracy.

Pakistan has a population of about 200 million - mostly Muslims. India has almost 1,300 million citizens and about one in seven follow Islam. There are almost as many Indian Muslims as Pakistani Muslims.

One projection suggests that by 2050, India will overtake Indonesia to become the country with the world's biggest Muslim population. But Muslims are under-represented in India's parliament and many other areas of public life.

Some observers believe the perception - however unfair - that Indian Muslims sympathise with Pakistan has fed prejudice and discrimination.

Image copyrightREUTERS

Image captionPakistani cricket fans celebrating their team's success

The pride that almost all Indians and Pakistanis feel about their nation is self-evident. Patriotism is a powerful force in both countries.

It is on public display every time they play each other at cricket. But both have been unable to overcome the legacy of the tragedy which accompanied what should have been their finest moment 70 years ago.

And the result of their most recent tussle on the cricket pitch? Well, for the record, Pakistan won a surprise - and emphatic - victory.

Some in India were gracious in defeat. But on social media, and some sections of India's news media, there was anger and anguish - losing face to your old rival remains, for many, almost too painful to endure.

About this piece

This analysis was commissioned by the BBC from an expert working for an outside organisation.

Dr Andrew Whitehead is a former BBC India correspondent. He is the author of a book about Kashmir in 1947 and is currently honorary professor at the University of Nottingham.

Everyone's talking about one issue with that sex scene in Game of Thrones

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 23:42:00 +0000

A lovely moment in Game of Thrones but did you think the same?

Much like the Night King's heart after the coldest night of The Long Night, Game of Thrones fans are pretty much dead inside after being subjected to years and years of heartbreak, suffering and misery.

Granted, we're still treated to a few remnants of humanity and hope as seen by Sam's friendship with Jon, Tyrion's decency to others and Jon's unshakable devotion to his family, but for the most part, we've suffered. Seven hells have we suffered!

As every single Game of Thrones fan will know, relationships don't tend to last very long in Westeros.

Khal Drogo and Daenerys' marriage was effectively ended by witchcraft. Ned Stark was decapitated and as for the other members of House Stark and their partners, well, the Red Wedding was great fun!

Heck, even the one relationship that has stood the test of time in the series is seriously messed up - Jaime Lannister and his sister Cersei.

Despite this environment of despair and heartbreak, Game of Thrones fans were delighted to see Grey Worm and Missandei finally hook up and enjoy a few tender moments.

Sex is as common in the show as anything else, but in the previous six seasons, we've been privy to some pretty brutal and violent sex scenes.

This is why the racy scene between Grey Worm and Missandei was so welcome.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei) talked about the moment when her character finally consummated this long-simmering romance.

“There’s something unique about it purely because of Grey Worm’s situation. His brutal history of being mutilated — there’s a real sense of trust here and that really plays out in this lovely scene where they physically act upon their love. For him to do that is a really big deal and Missandei knows that and doesn’t really care. She just loves him and that intimacy they’ve shared comes to a head," she said.

Despite this important moment for these two beloved characters, viewers at home were only curious about *one thing*

We can't have been the only ones to think this?

*Ok, they're also wondering about another thing but get your mind out of the gutter!*

If someone is looking at this part of your body they don’t fancy you, apparently

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 23:37:00 +0000

There’s apparently a very simple way to tell if someone is into you or not, according to a new study.

Researchers at Wellesley College and the University of Kansas did a joint study and found that if a man looks at a woman’s face, they don’t like her in a romantic way. When they looked at the chest or hip region, that meant they had hearts in their eyes. And you thought eye contact was the most important thing!

The research was intended to figure out how to tell if someone thought a person was ‘attractive,’ so if someone is looking at your face, they might still like you – just possibly not in a sexual way.

The study gathered 105 heterosexual undergraduate students for subjects and asked them to look at photos of men and women and to answer whether they wanted to be buddies or date a person.

The researchers then tracked their eye movements. While the study was peer-reviewed, it’s important to remember that it only looked at heterosexual college students.

But it certainly is something to think about. The researchers noted that the men looking at a woman’s chest and hips is actually in line with past research that found that men tend to consider a woman’s reproductive abilities when choosing a mate. It’s apparently evolution. It still feels gross, though.

Moreover, the study shows that it really depends on what you’re already looking for in a relationship. Men, across the board, looked at the chest and hips whether or not they were looking for love. Meanwhile, women looked at the head, but looked at it longer if they were considering just being friends with a man. They also checked out legs and feet when they just had pure thoughts about a person.

‘Research on attraction tends to assume there is a fixed set of characteristics that makes a person desirable,’ Angela Bahns, the study’s co-author and an assistant professor of psychology at Wellesley, wrote in a statement.

‘This new study shows that what people look for in a prospective relationship partner depends on their relational goals. The same person who makes a highly desirable friend may not make a good mate.’

But don’t be totally offended if your crush is checking out your feet or ear lobes and not your chest. Maybe they’re just highly evolved and know that female partners aren’t just for mating.

Galaxy Gaming Announces Leadership Changes

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 23:29:00 +0000

AS VEGAS, July 26, 2017 — Galaxy Gaming, Inc. (OTC:GLXZ), announced today that Todd P. Cravens, the Company’s Vice President of Business Development, has succeeded Galaxy’s founder, Robert B. Saucier, as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Saucier remains with the Company as a Director and has been appointed to the position of Executive Vice President of Business Development and Chief Product Officer.

Prior to joining the Company in January 2017, Mr. Cravens was the CEO of the Americas for TCS John Huxley and has over 25 years of experience in the gaming and entertainment industries. “Todd is an outstanding choice to lead the Company going forward,” continued Mr. Saucier. “He has the respect of the Galaxy team and of our clients, and I know he will move quickly to advance the many opportunities in front of us.”

Mr. Cravens stated, “I am excited to expand my role with Galaxy. I step into the position surrounded by a very solid team that is focused on creating great products and servicing our clients. The Company has made substantial investments in people and products over the last two years, and this puts us in an excellent position to better serve clients in both new and existing markets.”

In separate action, the Company’s Board elected Mark Lipparelli as a Director and Chairman of the Board. Mr. Lipparelli previously served as a senior executive for several publicly traded gaming manufacturers including Bally Technologies, Shuffle Master, and Casino Data Systems. Additionally, Mr. Lipparelli served as a Board Member and Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board and is a former Nevada State Senator. Mr. Lipparelli has been a strategic advisor to the Company since 2014.

Mr. Lipparelli commented, “In the past three years Galaxy has made material progress operationally, opened new markets, enhanced its management team and improved its financial performance. Going forward, the Board will work with management to execute its plans for additional growth and expansion.”

Commenting on the changes, Mr. Saucier stated, “I am proud of our Company’s performance over the last several years. I am pleased to welcome Todd and Mark in their new roles. I intend to focus my energy on product development, new business opportunities and fulfilling my obligations with regard to my personal gaming applications.”

About Galaxy Gaming

Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, Galaxy Gaming (galaxygaming.com) is an industry leading supplier of proprietary table games and electronic wagering and bonusing systems to traditional and on-line casinos worldwide.

CONTACT: Contact:  Media: Dona Cassese 702-938-1753  Investors: Harry Hagerty 702-938-1740

This article has been provided by Nasdaq Globe Newswire.

Man stabbed woman he met on dating site 119 times after she told him she was transgender

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 23:26:00 +0000

Dee Whigham was stabbed 119 times Dee Whigham/Facebook

A former sailor in the US Navy stabbed a woman 119 times when she revealed she was transgender after they had sex, a court heard.

Dwanya Hickerson, 21, "lost it" after learning Dee Whigham, 25, had been born a man.

Mississippi's Jacksonville Circuit Court heard that he knifed Ms Whigham multiple times in the face and slashed her throat in a hotel room before showering and leaving her for dead.

The pair had been chatting online for two months after making contact through a dating site.

They decided to meet for the first time when Ms Whigham was visiting the city of Biloxi, where Hickerson lived, on July 23 last year.

The hospital nurse picked him up at the gates of Keesler Air Force Base, where he was training to be a weather forecaster, and drove them to her hotel, the court heard.

CCTV footage showed them walking into her room together at Best Western at about 8.30pm. Hickerson was seen leaving 23 minutes later with his shirt around his neck.

Ms Whigham's body was found at about 9.45pm by her friends.

An Air Force instructor later recognised Hickerson in a police appeal over the killing and reported him to detectives, according to the WLOX news channel.

Hickerson later told police he and Ms Whigham had sex at the hotel she told him she was transgender.

"I lost it, I lost it," he said, adding he did not remember much afterwards.

He was jailed for 40 years without parole after pleading guilty to second-degree murder. He will also have to serve 15 years for a robbery charge after taking Whigham's purse and mobile phone.

Hickerson could have faced the death penalty if he had been convicted of capital murder.

Ms Whigham's mother, Vickie Blackney Whigham, criticised Hickerson's sentence.

"I think the plea is a slap in the face," she said. "He gets a chance to see his family and I don't have that chance with my child."

End of Al Jazeera, a dark day for the Middle East

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 23:23:00 +0000

On 5 June this year, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar. Among other things, they justified the act based on the state’s alleged support of “terrorist” groups and it’s so called diplomatic sympathies with Iran, all of which Doha denies. Soon after, it emerged that the lifting of sanctions might come at the cost of no fewer than 13 demands, later reduced to six principles.

Among the obligations was the closure of all news outlets which are directly and indirectly Qatari funded, it specified; Al Jazeera, Arabi21, Rassd, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, Mekameleen and Middle East Eye.

Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani responded that Al Jazeera Media Network was to remain an “internal affair”. In response, Giles Trendle, the managing director of Al Jazeera English, said: “It’s as absurd as it would be for Germany to demand Britain to close the BBC.”

#QatarGate

Why is the Doha-based broadcaster being targeted? Al Jazeera is funded by Qatar, yet claims an independent editorial line. When Al Jazeera was established it disrupted the mainstream Arab language media. On the one hand, it was celebrated as mouthpiece for voices that had long been neglected, on the other, shunned as a tool for inciting sectarianism and dissent in the Arab region. While the sanctions are unprecedented, spats between Qatar and its neighbours have been common over the years and similarly Al Jazeera has frequently come under pressure.

To place the channel in its highly combustible context, Trendle states:

The Middle East is boiling, people are very passionate, for many years they have not had a voice, Al Jazeera is like a safety valve, there is a lot of pressure that has been building up.

Pressure and passions aside, many argue that for a media channel to be funded by an authoritarian regime remains problematic on credibility front.

The roots of this recent Al Jazeera onslaught go back to 2011, the Arab Spring and Al Jazeera’s unapologetic coverage of opposition groups in Egypt, Syria, Bahrain and elsewhere. It comes as no surprise therefore that the calls to shut the channel down are coming from those same autocratic leaderships. Bahrain’s authorities for example would not have forgotten Al Jazeera’s commissioning and broadcasting of the documentary “Shouting In The Dark” offering a rare and harrowing insight into the oppression of the country’s uprising in 2011. Wadah Khanfar, ex-director general of Al Jazeera, says:

We are being punished now because for one day we thought that the Arab Spring was a brilliant day in our history and we at Al Jazeera stood for the people who marched in the Arab streets.

In the case of Middle East Eye, a UK based platform for online news, David Hearst, its editor-in-chief, responded that the news site is not funded by Qatar. Instead he blames the attack on the independent nature of its media model which sells articles to an Arabic audience. Hearst says: “A lot of what I write and also what the rest of the Middle East Eye writes gets translated into Arabic and the people behind this, particularly the Saudis, are really dead scared of any criticism or examination on what’s going on.”

Another report that would support this is that only Al Jazeera Arabic is currently being asked to close, not its English counterpart. Although the editorial line between the two differs, Hearst warns: “Understand the mindset of a power that says we can take criticism in English but not in Arabic.”

Broadcasting opposition movements have often been overshadowed by the channel’s supposed Islamist sympathies. In 2015 criticism of the channel peaked when Al Jazeera Arabic published a poll in which 80 per cent of its viewership voted “Yes” in response to the question on Daesh’s influence: “Do you consider the Islamic State’s advances in Iraq and Syria in the interest of the region?”

Trendle supports the move saying: “We don’t incite, we report, and that’s a key difference.” He said with regard to channel airing or hosting extremist figures: “Remember Margret Thatcher in the eighties, she banned the BBC from interviewing the ‘terrorists’ of the IRA and the BBC got around it.”

When asked if Al Jazeera would be compromised by the demands on Qatar, Trendle answered: “No, we just get on with our jobs”. No doubt things are not that simple and as with the majority of international media outlets there are many areas in which Al Jazeera could improve. Even Khanfar admits: “Of course we made mistakes otherwise we would not be a human organisation.” Yes, Al Jazeera should be scrutinised but doing so at this particular moment in time unfortunately feeds into the hands of people with no tolerance of others’ press freedoms nor their own. Khanfar continues: “Do you know they [Saudi] have just issued a law for punishing with five to 25 years in jail if they write a tweet sympathising with Qatar?”

The fact that Qatar’s support of terrorist groups is projected by states who are directly involved in the funding of extremist organisations remains confusing at best. The attack therefore should not in itself tarnish Al Jazeera’s or other targeted media’s reputations but instead serve as an alarm bell to the wider onslaught on media by authoritarian governments and leaders around the world. Bias or not, one can’t help agreeing with Trendle when he says: “The day that Al Jazeera isn’t around would be a dark day for journalism and a dark day for the region.”

Pastor raped by three women when he confronted them about money they owed

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 23:10:00 +0000

Samdra Ncube, Riamuhetsi Mlauzi, and Mongiwe Mpofu deny raping the pastor (Picture: chronicle.co.zw)

Three women have appeared in court after a pastor says he was raped.

Two of the women are alleged to have pinned the man down on a bed while the third carried out the sex attack.

A magistrates’ court in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, was told that the victim was owed money by the attackers and he went to their home to collect it.

hey invited him into the house but once he was inside he said he was grabbed around the waist and his trousers were pulled down by a second who then groped him.

The women Sandra Ncube, 21, Riamuhetsi Mlauzi, 23, and Mongiwe Mpofu, 25, denied rape but pleaded guilty to indecent assault.

One of them said they were ‘just playing around’.

Prosecutor Mr Petros Shoko said: ‘On July 14 at 7pm the complainant went to the accused persons residence to collect money which Mlauzi owed.

‘They forced him to lie on the bed and undressed him. Ncube sat on his chest and he tried to push her away. However Mlauzi held his legs together and sat on his top pressing him against the bed.

Mpofu was in another room and brought condoms and placed them on the complainants manhood and helped to hold him down.

‘Ncube had sexual intercourse with the complainant once without his consent’ Mr Shoko said.

The three denied raping the pastor but admitted indecent assault.

Ncube said: ‘We were just playing around Your Worship. I did not think that he would take it seriously’.

Mpofu denied taking part but admitted bringing the condoms saying: ‘We keep them around the house and I just brought them’.

Mlauzi said she wanted to ‘fix’ the pastor who she claimed had a habit of walking in on the women when they were bathing.

\She said: ‘He always walks in on me bathing and claims to be unmoved as a man of God. I just wanted to see if he was going to be aroused or not.

‘I did not plan to execute the whole rape thing Your Worship’.

Magistrate Lungile Ncube was told by Mlauzi that she just wanted to prove to the pastor that he had ‘feelings like everybody else’.

She said: ‘I wanted him to see that he was not special and was not immune to sexual arousal.

When I touched him he immediately got aroused and that is all we wanted to see’ she said.

The complainant was taken to Mpilo Central Hospital for a medical examination and the report will be prepared for the magistrates.

All three were remanded in custody until August 7 for a full trial.

Earlier this month a 39-year-old teacher was hospitalised in Zimbabwe after claiming a gang of three women kidnapped, drugged and raped him for two days.

The man from Makoni in Chitungwiza was left with severely bruised genitals and doctors at Waza Hospital found other signs of sexual abuse after he was dumped by the roadside.

Police are still trying to find the three women who are allegedly part of a ‘sperm bandit’ gang preying on hitchhikers and travellers and steal and sell their semen for ‘good luck’.

There is no suggestion the two alleged crimes are related.

Female physics teacher, 28, joined Mile High club when she had sex with pupil on flight home from school trip

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 22:52:00 +0000

A female physics teacher has been banned from the classroom for life after having sex with a pupil on a flight home from a school trip.

Eleanor Wilson, 28, who was also head of Key Stage 4 at a school in Bristol, became close with Pupil A during the trip in July and August 2015.

During the flight home from the trip they flirted at the back of the plane while looking after another pupil who was unwell.

Giving evidence to the National College for Teaching and Leadership disciplinary panel, Pupil A said Miss Wilson was intoxicated and he had consumed approximately five miniature bottles of wine on the flight.

He said he and Miss Wilson entered the toilet, kissed, engaged in a sex act and had intercourse without using protection.

The panel found Pupil A to be a credible, reliable witness and agreed with his version of events.

Eleanor Wilson, 28, has been banned from the classroom for life after having sex with a pupil on a flight home from a school trip

The boy was convinced he was in love with Wilson and they met several times outside of school.

After the trip they continued to meet outside of school and Wilson also had 'one to one' meetings with him in her office.

They sent each other text messages and drank cider together.

Trump Is Being Moved Aside So That Conflict with Russia Can Proceed

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 22:45:00 +0000

What is the Congress up to with their stupid bill that imposes more sanctions and removes the power of President Trump to rescind the sanctions that President Obama imposed?

Congress is doing two things. One is that Congress is serving their campaign contributors in the military/security complex by being tougher with Russia, thus keeping the orchestrated threat alive so that Americans denied health care don't start looking at the massive military/security budget as a place to find money for health care.

The other is to put President Trump in a box. If Trump vetoes this encroachment on presidential power, Congress and the presstitute media will present the veto as absolute proof that Trump is a Russian agent and is protecting Russia with his veto. If Trump does not veto the bill, Trump will have thrown in his hand and accepted that he cannot reduce the dangerous tensions with Russia.

In other words, the bill is a lose-lose for Trump. Yet Republicans are supporting the bill, thus undermining their president.

Yesterday I heard an orchestrated, staged "interview" between two women on NPR's "All Things Considered" (on NPR all things are never considered). It was a propaganda show focused on Trump's expression of disappointment in Jeff Sessions, whom Trump mistakenly appointed Attorney General.

When Trump nominated Sessions, the Democrats and the presstitutes went berserk. Sessions was "unqualified," a "racist," blah-blah. But now Sessions is the hero of the presstitutes and Democrats. They love him, because he has sold out Trump on the question of the justification for an investigation of Trump as a suspect "Russian agent" by an independent prosecutor who happens to be a member of the anti-Trump ruling establishment.

In other words, Sessions, who has been beat up previously by the establishment, is too afraid to do his job.

In other words, Trump had, as I predicted, no idea what he was doing when he chose his government.

So now he suffers for his ignorance.

What was the point of the staged NPR interview between the two women? The point was that Sessions, unlike Trump, respects the rule of law whereas Trump wants to bend the law in order to cover up for himself. The interview was staged so that without the two women having to say it, Trump's anger at Session was proof that Trump was guilty of some illegitimate "Russian connection."

In other words, it was carefully constructed innuendo. Who constructed the innuendo? NPR's women were just reading from a script.

As far as I can tell, there is no one in Trump's government who is loyal to him or who is willing to back Trump's effort to stop provoking the Russians and to cease serving as Israel's military force in the Middle East. As far as I can tell not only the Democratic Party but also the Republican Party supports the left-wing's view that Trump's election was illegitimate, because he was elected by the votes of illegitimate people -- "the deplorables" to use Hillary's term.

Who are "the deplorables?" They are the remnants of the American working class. They are the people whose jobs were sent overseas to Asia by the global US corporations in order to enrich their shareholders and executives via higher profits from lower labor costs. They are the people who in order to stay afloat had to rely on debt in place of the missing income and whose debt is now so high that they have no disposable income. A huge proportion of the American population is incapable of raising a measly $400 without having to sell personal possessions.

In other words, they are refugees from a destroyed American middle class.

Trump stood up for them against the rich who ruined them, and now the rich are going to ruin Trump.

It will teach a lesson. Henceforth in the United States no one will dare to stick up for the American people. America is not for Americans any more than the world is for the peoples of the world. America and the world are for the One Percent. No one else. Russia, China, and Iran are in the way, and, thus, they are on Washington's hit list.

It is heartbreaking to watch the Russians continue to believe, lesson after lesson to the contrary, that they can reach a deal with Washington. This unrealistic hope will destroy Russia. The Russian government will continue to grasp at straws and be put off guard.

It is utterly amazing that the Russian government can believe after its extensive history of being left hanging in the wind by its agreements with Washington that any agreement with Washington is worth anything.

Perhaps Russia is aware of the evil that they face in Washington. Perhaps the Russian emphasis on diplomacy is just a way of gaining time to get prepared for the war that Washington intends to bring to them.

There is little doubt that the great and wonderful beacon of light that is Democracy in Washington, also known as the government of the "exceptional" people and the "indispensable" country, is lost in hubris and arrogance and will destroy life on earth.

Trump administration hits 13 Venezuelans with sanctions in advance of critical vote

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 22:41:00 +0000

The Trump administration placed sanctions on 13 current and former senior Venezuelan officials Wednesday and warned that it was prepared to take far more draconian measures if President Nicolás Maduro does not cancel a vote this weekend to choose a new congress.

Those hit with sanctions include top officials from the government, the security services and the Venezuelan oil industry. The measures, which freeze any money that they have in the United States and prohibit U.S. citizens or financial institutions from any dealing with them, are the latest in a series of steps administration officials described as a “steady drumbeat” of pressure on the Maduro government.

The vote scheduled for Sunday to elect a new super-assembly is widely seen as a move by Maduro to consolidate his power amid widespread opposition protests that have virtually shut down the country and a security crackdown that has led to deaths and massive arrests.

In a statement this month, President Trump said the United States would support Venezuelans standing for “democracy, freedom and the rule of law” ignored by “a bad leader who dreams of becoming a dictator” and “will not stand by as Venezuela crumbles.” He promised “strong and swift economic actions” if the vote takes place.

The administration has done nothing to dampen speculation that those actions could include an embargo on oil imports from Venezuela, the United States’ third-largest foreign supplier. An embargo could increase energy prices in this country and affect supply and distribution through Citgo, Venezuela’s U.S. refining subsidiary.

“Sectoral sanctions,” as they are called, “are something that are certainly under consideration,” said one of several senior administration officials who briefed reporters Wednesday on the administration-imposed condition of anonymity.

“All options are still on the table for the president to take after July 30,” the official said. “Certainly our hope is that Maduro will change his position.”

Response options will go to Trump for a decision, the official said, and the government was doing a “fully thorough analysis to try to understand the impact of options not just on Venezuela but also on the U.S. . . . The goal is to try to prevent as much harm to the U.S. economy, while maximizing [impact] on the Venezuelan regime.”

As the crisis has continued, the U.S. Congress and other nations in the hemisphere have been widely supportive of action against the Maduro government.

“The expansion of targeted sanctions against Maduro cronies with Venezuelans’ blood on their hands is not only appropriate, it was necessary,” said Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.). “The implosion of Venezuela has already claimed the lives of hundreds and left millions hungry and desperate, and yet not one single Venezuelan government official or member of the security forces has been held accountable for their role in the beating, shooting, jailing or killing of Venezuela’s citizens and democracy.”

People familiar with the administration’s internal discussions said that Trump favors a strong response and has been inclined toward targeting Venezuela’s oil sector. Officials at the State and Energy departments have been more cautious, warning, as have some of Maduro’s opponents in Venezuela, that such a move could have a devastating impact on the ground.

Venezuela counts on U.S. oil sales as a major source for dwindling supplies of hard currency and uses the dollars it earns to cover food and medicine imports.

Cutting off those supplies should significantly ratchet up the pressure on Maduro but exacerbate already bad shortages of food and medicines for long-suffering Venezuelans.

The list issued Tuesday contained powerful figures in Venezuela’s ruling elite, including Elías José Jaua Milano, Maduro’s minister spearheading Sunday’s vote, and Tibisay Lucena Ramírez, head of the electoral council that opponents have charged with fraud.

But just as significant was the decision to extend the sanctions to the military and state-run oil sector, a move potentially signaling to powerful forces in the country that they would not be immune from the response against Maduro.

Those officials included the recently named army commander Jesús Rafael Suárez Chourio and Sergio José Rivero Marcano, whose National Guard has been battling protesters. Another key name: Simón Alejandro Zerpa Delgado, a senior executive at the state-owned oil giant.

But few thought the U.S. step would prevent Sunday’s vot

“Do I think that it’s going to work? I honestly don’t think these kinds of sanctions usually work,” said Michael Pinfold, a global fellow with the Wilson Center’s Latin America program.

As pressure on Maduro continued to build, anti-government forces were staging a 48-hour strike that shut down large parts of the capital Wednesday, with a massive march on Caracas being organized for Friday or Saturday.

In the wealthier eastern half of the city, most businesses closed to support the strike called by the opposition, which is boycotting the vote and calling for its cancellation.

The main highways of the capital city were largely closed down in the early morning, and reports surfaced of national police lobbing tear gas at strikers in the center. In the poorer neighborhoods in the west, the strike appeared less pronounced, with more businesses open and more people on the streets.

Faiola reported from Caracas. Rachelle Krygier in Caracas contributed to this report

This Totally Explains Why Trump Suddenly Banned Transgender People from Military

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 22:35:00 +0000

One of President Donald Trump’s tweetstorms dominated the American news cycle once again, as his morning Twitter announcements to ban transgender people from serving in the U.S. military “in any capacity” sparked widespread outrage and criticism, and many civil rights groups are already preparing lawsuits against the president. President Trump’s actions thus beg the simple question: why?

A pending spending bill in the House of Representatives, according to a POLITICO report, explains Trump’s sudden policy announcement. The bill, backed by GOP representatives, was packed with measures that if passed would fulfill a number of Trump’s campaign promises, such as designating funds to build a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Yes, his early morning tweet storm might be all about the border wall. The bill’s success would be significant victory for the president.

Intra-party conflict over transgender troop issues, however, threatened to derail the bill entirely and leave the legislation without the necessary GOP votes to pass. The split between Republicans was over whether or not the Pentagon would ban funding for sex-reassignment operations for military personnel. More conservative representatives argued that the measure would be a waste of taxpayer money while more moderate Republicans considered a funding ban inherently discriminatory.

The threat of the bill’s failure prompted Trump to take swift action and ban transgender individuals from serving, reaching much further than the bill ever considered going. According to a number of White House and congressional house sources, the tweets represented Trump’s “last-ditch attempt to save [the] House proposal”, POLITICO reported. House representatives reportedly asked for Defense Secretary James Mattis to lend them a hand in enforcing a ban, but after he declined to act on the matter immediately, GOP members then appealed to the President, who happily obliged.

“This is like someone told the White House to light a candle on the table and the WH set the whole table on fire,” one White House Republican aide said.

Despite frustration, Tillerson says Trump relationship is 'good'

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 22:33:00 +0000

JUST WATCHED

Secretary Tillerson isn't 'going anywhere'

Replay

MUST WATCH

'Repeal-only' health amendment fails in Senate

White House: Trump, Sessions haven't spoken

White House defends ban on transgender troops

Lindsey Graham: Trump's attacks show weakness

Transgender ban is awful decision, Lieu says

Rep. Lieu calls transgender ban awful decision

President Trump makes jobs announcement (Full)

Transgender service member calls ban 'unkind'

Trump rips Sessions over acting FBI director

Trump bans transgender people from military

Secretary Tillerson isn't 'going anywhere'

'Repeal-only' health amendment fails in Senate

White House: Trump, Sessions haven't spoken

White House defends ban on transgender troops

Lindsey Graham: Trump's attacks show weakness

Transgender ban is awful decision, Lieu says

Rep. Lieu calls transgender ban awful decision

President Trump makes jobs announcement (Full)

Transgender service member calls ban 'unkind'

Trump rips Sessions over acting FBI director

Trump bans transgender people from military

Secretary Tillerson isn't 'going anywhere'

Play

Current Time0:00

Duration Time0:06

Loaded: 0%

Progress: 0%

0:00

Fullscreen

00:00

Mute

Configuration

Source: CNN

Secretary Tillerson 'isn't going anywhere' 00:23

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Tillerson has said his old job as Exxon CEO was much "easier"
The State Department denies rumors of a "Rexit"

Washington (CNN)How hard is it to be President Donald Trump's top diplomat?

Foreign envoys tell a story of watching Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with his head in his hands after reading a presidential tweet that undermined the very meeting he was in. It's a story they tell with some pity.

Amid rumors that the top US diplomat is frustrated and considering an early departure, friction between Tillerson, Trump and the White House team -- as well as headaches the President has created for his foreign policy officials -- are taking on new significance.

State Department officials have batted back reports of a "Rexit," with spokesman Heather Nauert calling them "false." A senior agency official who recently met with Tillerson told CNN that the secretary isn't letting any stress show, adding that, "he's been working with determination."

Tillerson takes time off as State Dept. refuses to say he is happy in his role

The secretary himself insisted today that he'll stay "as long as the President lets me." He added that his relationship with Trump is "good."

Lawmakers close to Tillerson say they think he'll persevere. "I think he's willing to deal with all the things that exist to try to ensure that this administration and our nation is successful in foreign policy," Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, told The Washington Post. Corker added that he doesn't "think Tillerson is on the verge of resigning."

But CNN's John King has been told that the former ExxonMobil CEO may be close to throwing in the towel. King reported Monday that Tillerson has a growing list of disagreements with the White House, that the top diplomat's friends say his frustration has been building over the past six months, and that Tillerson doubts the situation will improve.

Differences between Trump and Tillerson have been on display from the start -- as have the ways in which Trump has made Tillerson's path a bumpier one.

Tillerson has encountered White House interference with his staffing choices, he's had to contend with Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner stepping in on high-profile policy issues, including the Middle East, and the 65-year-old Texan has often had to deal with the undermining effect of presidential tweets that contradict his policy statements.

Tillerson has carefully acknowledged some of the challenges, telling an audience at the World Petroleum Council that his old job was a lot "easier" and noting the President's relative inexperience in global politics.

Rexit? Don't quit yet, Secretary Tillerson

"In my old life, I spent a lot of time around the political world because I had to deal with governments all over the world so I'm quite, I'm quite comfortable in these settings," Tillerson said in early July. In contrast, he said, "We have a president that doesn't come from the political world."

Asked about Trump's disruptive tweets on foreign policy a month earlier in New Zealand, Tillerson had said that "the President has his own unique way of communicating with the American people and the world and it's served him pretty well."

Asked the same question in July, Tillerson sounded more subdued. He cited the "dynamic" situations he encountered as an oil executive. "Yes, things are going to happen," he said, speaking in Istanbul. Then he added, "it is more difficult, because of just the elements we talked about."

Mexican diplomats have had a front row seat to observe just how difficult Tillerson's job can be. In late February, Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly traveled to Mexico to repair damage done by Trump's dismissal at the launch of his presidential campaign of Mexicans as rapists, criminals and freeloaders, his declaration that the military would be used for deportations, and his insistence that Mexico would pay for construction of a southern border wall.

While they were meeting with the Mexican foreign minister, a Mexican diplomat tells CNN that Tillerson and Kelly got word of remarks Trump had made to manufacturing CEOs that "we're getting really bad dudes out of this country and at a rate that nobody's ever seen before and they're the bad ones and it's a military operation."

CIA chief signals desire for regime change in North Korea

Tillerson and Kelly put their hands to their heads, the diplomat said, their frustration and disbelief visibly apparent as the meeting was abruptly stopped. The two sides had to separate, regroup and reconvene later.

In the months since, Trump hasn't stopped dropping presidential tweet bombs on his own officials.

Trump has contradicted his Cabinet members on NATO -- criticizing it while Tillerson and others reaffirmed US support for the alliance.

More recently, he disrupted Tillerson's work on Qatar, after other Gulf nations cut relations with Doha, accusing it of terrorism. While Tillerson worked to get all parties to resolve the issue, Trump sent out a 140-character blast that planted him firmly against Qatar and in the camp with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and other nations.

And in June, Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis said they'd made progress with Chinese officials on containing the nuclear threat from North Korea. Trump hit social media to say that attempts to work with China on Pyongyang had"not worked out."

Strains are showing in the President's relations with other Cabinet officials, most notably with his first and most public supporter, Attorney General Jeff Sessions. And some observers have pointed to friction between White House insiders like Steve Bannon and officials like Tillerson and the colleagues he works with closely, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster, and Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Trump changes tune, flexes US muscle overseas

"There is dissonance," Corker told The Washington Post. Referring to Tillerson, Mattis and McMaster, he said, "these three are focused on you know, longer-term outcomes" that can conflict with "a chalkboard in Bannon's office that lays out the campaign promises which were made."

Add to that the fact that the President is often swayed by the last voice he's heard, Corker said.

"The input that he's getting sometimes conflicts with I would call the three principles," Corker said. "It plays out in many ways publicly, sometimes in conflict with efforts that are underway and sometimes in ways that can, in fact, undermine what is occurring."

Tillerson says Qatar resolution may take a while

On Tuesday, back at work after a brief, unannounced vacation, Tillerson ignored questions about his reported frustration and emphasized his busy and productive schedule. He boasted of a "very good working breakfast this morning with Speaker [Paul] Ryan" as well as a "lengthy meeting with the Vice President at the White House on foreign policy issues today."

Smoke signals about Tillerson's unhappiness appeared with June stories that suggested he lost his cool at a White House meeting about staffing the State Department. Tillerson had told State Department employees that Trump gave him control over hiring, but the White House has nixed at least two of his picks for senior positions.

Even before Tillerson took the job, it became clear during his confirmation hearing that he disagreed with the President on a slew of policy issues: the Trans-Pacific Partnership, climate change, Russian interference in the election and its aggression in Ukraine, the idea of a registry for American Muslims, respect for Mexico, and the proposal that Japan and South Korea should consider developing nuclear weapons.

A more recent catalyst for rumors that the secretary of state is mulling an early exit are apparent divisions over the Iran nuclear deal, differences that led to arguments last week among the President, Tillerson and other Cabinet members.

Every 90 days, the White House must certify to Congress that Iran is complying with the deal signed in 2015. At the most recent mid-July review, Tillerson, along with the rest of Trump's senior national security team, agreed Iran was in line.

On July 17, Tillerson prepared to issue the announcement. Allies and lawmakers were told, a press briefing was announced -- and then the whole thing was put on hold.

At the 11th hour, Trump had objected. The President wanted to hear what would happen if he declared Iran non-compliant, an administration official told CNN.

The official said there were voices within the White House arguing that Iran wasn't complying, but the source heard no concrete examples of how Tehran was violating the deal. Tillerson argued that Iran was, in fact, in compliance and that the administration should proceed. It was an argument he had with Trump personally, but it took until the mid-afternoon before a decision was made to go ahead.

The State Department announcement was delayed until the following day.

CNN's Elise Labott and John King contributed to this report

These Photos Of Nigerian Man Smiling Outside His Flooded Home Him Has Gone Viral

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 22:10:00 +0000

Photos of this Nigerian man smiling in front of his house in Makoko which was flooded during the heavy downpour in Lagos last weekend have gone viral.

Many are hailing him for still finding something to smile about despite his situation, which was so bad that the rain water got up to his chest level.

He was later pictured picking his shoes and personal belongings from the flood while still smiling. Many states in Nigeria have been hit in the rainy season due to the absence of good and working drainage facilities.

Here are the photos of the man that has since gone viral:

61-Year-Old Nigerian Woman Miraculously Welcomes Set Of Triplets And It’s Amazing

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 22:07:00 +0000

61-year-old Mrs Sambra Briggs who hails from Abonnema in Rivers state was said to have welcomed a set of triplets on the 24th of July.

A Facebook user, Comr Dickson David Senibo who shared the story on social media wrote:

“GOD IS STILL DOING MARVELOUS THINGS. Today the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Adeboye, Oyedepo and Ibiyeomie performed another miracle as a woman at the age of 61 from Abonnema namely Mrs Samba Briggs gave birth to triplet. Father you know my area of DIVINE NEED please answer me with a wonderful miracle like this AMEN. May your name be praised”.

Here are the photos:

Meet The 19-Year-Old Who Built A New Search Engine To Rival Google And Youtube

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 22:03:00 +0000

Gabriel Opare, a 19-year-old Ghanaian university student is making headlines in the tech industry for building a new search engine to rival Google and Youtube.

According to Opare, his new search engine, Mudclo, will challenge the dominance of YouTube and Google.

Mudclo is a free search engine for videos where you can discover and stream videos from the different locations on the internet all in one place.

“I believe that my business is good enough and that it can scale globally. It is a legitimate point to say that YouTube is a video hosting website, but they are two different entities. While YouTube is a video hosting website, Mudclo combines the power of YouTube and two other video hosting websites in order to create Mudclo,” he said.

Watch Yemi Alade Show Off Eccentric Moves In “Charliee” Video

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 22:02:00 +0000

inger Yemi Alade has released the music video for ‘Charliee’, her most recent hit song.

Paul Gambit directed the video of the song which was produced by Fliptyce.

‘Charliee’ is the first single released from her forthcoming extended play (EP) project named ‘Mama Afrique’.

The EP will be her third body of work following two studio albums; ‘King of Queens’ and ‘Mama Africa: The Diary of an African Woman’.

Watch video:

Here’s What Justin Bieber Has To Say About Claims That He Cancelled His World Tour To Start A Church

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 21:57:00 +0000

23-year-old Canadian singer, Justin Bieber has denied claims that he cancelled his world tour in order to start his own church.

The singer was questioned about his supposed religious calling as he headed out for sushi yesterday and appeared baffled at the suggestion.

He told TMZ: “No, you already know the reason.”

Despite looking confused by the question, the 23-year-old appeared relaxed after announcing he has called off the remaining 14 dates of his Purpose World Tour.

The star was expected to play in locations including North America, Japan, Singapore, and The Philippines – but has cancelled them due to “unforeseen circumstances”, which believed to be stemming from the star’s “exhaustion”.

However following the news, sources claimed that Justin was looking at starting up his own church as part of his plan to get closer to God.

“I am led to believe that the real reason he has come off the road is because he wants to reconnect with his faith and he may be even planning to start his own church,” veteran showbiz reporter Richard Wilkins told Today Extra.

“We know that he was in the country (Australia) a few weeks ago having meetings and attending the big Hillsong Church convention that they had here,” said Wilkins.

“[He’s] very close to a lot of the Hillsong people. Whether he’s looking at teaming up with them in something of a more permanent situation or doing some sort of religious activity on his own – starting his own church – we’re not quite sure, but that’s the word from an inside source.”

Justin’s tour cancellation was confirmed on Monday via a post uploaded to his website.

Tekno Finally Finds His Childhood Friend And He’s Elated

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 21:54:00 +0000

MMG singer, Tekno who earlier today said he was looking for his secondary school friend, Paul Akere, who he wants to gift N1 million, and also pledged N200k to anyone who helps him locate his friend.

Has found him!

Few minutes after he made the announcement, a twitter user dropped a photo of Paul Akere, Tekno blessed him and asked that Paul’s Number to be sent to him!

He has acknowledged the twitter user who shared a photo with Paul’s family.

Paul Akere too must have hit the biggest jackpot of his life when Tekno finally finds him and bestows him with the unmerited sum of 1 million naira.

Here’s how it happened:

This Is The Date Anthony Joshua And Klitschko Rematch May Hold

noreply@blogger.com (Elvis Edwin) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 21:50:00 +0000

T-Mobile Arena is the venue promoter Eddie Hearn hopes will persuade Wladimir Klitschko to sign to have a rematch of his Wembley bout with the World Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua, Telegraph reports.

In what could be Anthony Joshua’s U.S. debut, Hearn, who according to The Sun has traveled to Las Vegas with Joshua’s manager Freddie Cunningham, has applied for a Nevada promotion license for the contest.

“November 11 is the date that’s penciled in. We’ve got a couple of weeks to get everything over the line,” Hearn said.

While Klitschko is yet to trigger the rematch clause in his contract, Hearn is certain Vegas will be the place to convince him to do so, where he last fought in 2004.

“I believe Wladimir Klitschko is going to take this fight and I really think Vegas will be the one,” he said.

If Klitschko does refuse the rematch, instead choosing to retire, Joshua will fight International Boxing Federation mandatory challenger from Bulgaria Kubrat Pulev.

An announcement of the fight is said to be expected in two weeks.

Stephen Espinoza, Head of Broadcasters at Showtime Sports, which has an exclusive television deal in the United States with Joshua, said that:

It’s no secret we’ve been salivating about getting him (Joshua) over here and certainly that would be a phenomenal fight. It would be the biggest heavyweight Vegas fight in probably a couple of decades, so we would love to host it.

It’s mega-fight wherever it is. For my money, it was the fight of the year so far. It was a star-making performance and for many here in the US, it was their introduction to Anthony Joshua. It is beginning to whet their appetite for seeing more.

T-Mobile is also where the Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor fight will take place on August 26.

laugh Tablet world latest information and News

How Drake And Future Were Sued Over N9 Billion By Woman Who Was Allegedly Raped At Their Concert - Home of Entertainment, Gist and information

How 7 Content Marketing Toolkit Thatll Trip Can Help You Live a Better Life

7 Content Marketing Toolkit That’ll Triple Your Search Traffic

Subscribe on Youtube

Great Tools For Content Marketing

Marine dog with cancer gets tear-filled farewell

Health Care Debate: Obamacare Repeal Fails as McCain Casts Decisive No Vote

Senate rejects scaled-down Obamacare repeal.

McConnell unveils narrow Obamacare repeal bill.

DOCUMENT

Read the Senate‘Skinny Repeal’ Bill

C.B.O.: ‘Skinny’ bill would leave 15 million more uninsured.

What Is the Health Care ‘Vote-a-Rama?’

Ryan tried to calm Senate nerves.

“Creepy Billionaires.”

Three Republicans: No ‘yes’ votes without assurances of a conference.

The G.O.P.’s Health Care Hail Mary: ‘Skinny Repeal’

GRAPHIC

How Many PeopleAcross AmericaAre at Risk ofLosing TheirHealth Insurance?

Senate Republicans trim sails on ‘Repeal and Replace.’

This might not have helped.

Parliamentarian takes another scalp.

Insurers come off sidelines with warning.

GRAPHIC

The “Skinny”Repeal RepublicansHope to Pass WouldLeave HugeNumbers Uninsured

The American Medical Association piles on.

Protesters make their voices known.

Has Alaska’s delegation crossed Trump?

Where did the Senate leave off on Wednesday?

GRAPHIC

The Outcomes ofthe Many RepublicanHealth Plans AreNot So Different

What happens on Thursday?

How to Add YOAST-like-SEO Widget for Blogger/Blogspot Blog?

How to Add YOAST-like-SEO Widget for Blogger/Blogspot Blog?

Features of YOAST-like-SEO widget

How to Configure YOAST-like-SEO widget in your blog.

How to Customize YOAST-like-SEO widget

You have successfully configured YOAST-like-SEO widget to your blogger/BlogSpot blog.

Bride and groom fall off back of luxury car

Why you can't fly direct from Delhi to Islamabad

Partition of India in August 1947

About this piece

Everyone's talking about one issue with *that* sex scene in Game of Thrones

A lovely moment in Game of Thrones but did you think the same?

If someone is looking at this part of your body they don’t fancy you, apparently

Galaxy Gaming Announces Leadership Changes

Man stabbed woman he met on dating site 119 times after she told him she was transgender

World news in pictures

End of Al Jazeera, a dark day for the Middle East

Pastor raped by three women when he confronted them about money they owed

Female physics teacher, 28, joined Mile High club when she had sex with pupil on flight home from school trip

Trump Is Being Moved Aside So That Conflict with Russia Can Proceed

Trump administration hits 13 Venezuelans with sanctions in advance of critical vote

This Totally Explains Why Trump Suddenly Banned Transgender People from Military

Despite frustration, Tillerson says Trump relationship is 'good'

JUST WATCHED

Secretary Tillerson isn't 'going anywhere'

MUST WATCH

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

These Photos Of Nigerian Man Smiling Outside His Flooded Home Him Has Gone Viral

61-Year-Old Nigerian Woman Miraculously Welcomes Set Of Triplets And It’s Amazing

Meet The 19-Year-Old Who Built A New Search Engine To Rival Google And Youtube

Watch Yemi Alade Show Off Eccentric Moves In “Charliee” Video

Here’s What Justin Bieber Has To Say About Claims That He Cancelled His World Tour To Start A Church

Tekno Finally Finds His Childhood Friend And He’s Elated

This Is The Date Anthony Joshua And Klitschko Rematch May Hold

Read the Senate
‘Skinny Repeal’ Bill

How Many People
Across America
Are at Risk of
Losing Their
Health Insurance?

The “Skinny”
Repeal Republicans
Hope to Pass Would
Leave Huge
Numbers Uninsured

The Outcomes of
the Many Republican
Health Plans Are
Not So Different

Everyone's talking about one issue with that sex scene in Game of Thrones