'Rats jumping off a sinking ship': Insiders dumping Truth Social stock as price tanks

Tom Boggioni
August 29, 2024 

RAW STORY

(Shutterstock.com)

According to a new report, if Donald Trump wants to tap into a cash windfall that awaits him from his stake in Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, his time is coming soon but there are also indications some of the company's insiders are seeing the writing on the wall and it is not good.

Stock in the long-troubled social media platform has plummeted 40 percent in the past month, which puts the former president under the gun due to restraints placed upon him that keep him from doing a sell-off or borrowing against his shares until September 25.

That restraint has not held back some of the tech company's executives who have already started cashing in their stock as the value plummets.

According to a report from CNN, "Some Trump insiders are already selling, perhaps contributing to the recent selloff in the share price. For instance, Phillip Juhan, Trump Media’s chief financial officer and treasurer, recently disclosed selling $1.9 million worth of stock. Trump Media’s general counsel Scott Glabe, chief operating officer Andrew Northwall and chief technology officer Vladimir Novachki made smaller sales last week too. Even Devin Nunes, the former Republican congressman who now serves as Trump Media’s CEO and president, dumped $632,000 worth of stock last week."

According to Charles Whitehead, professor of business law at Cornell Law School, there is the danger of a massive sell-off, explaining, "You don’t see sizable shareholders like President Trump selling a lot of stock because it drives the price down. From the market’s perspective, it may look like rats jumping off a sinking ship.”
Jay Ritter, of the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business, added there is additional political peril if the former president does a massive stock dump.

“If Trump were to sell a large number of shares and the stock price tanks, to some degree he would be burning his own supporters who bought the stock,” Ritter suggested. “Politically, that may not play out real well for him.”

You can read more right here.

The real reason corporate media won't cover Trump's attacks on democracy

D. Earl Stephens
August 29, 2024

(Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)

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We need to talk about the abominable headline below, and how it is we have come to the fatal point where The New York Times and our broken mainstream media seem to need the America-attacking Donald Trump a helluva lot more than the America-attacking Donald Trump seems to need The New York Times and our broken mainstream media.



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During the past few, rocky years my feelings about the newspaper I grew up reading as a kid — the paper that influenced me more than any other to become a newspaperman — in the New Jersey suburbs have evolved from surprise, to shock, to disappointment, to anger, to rage, to complete revulsion ...

Aside from platforming maniacal, caustic headlines topping spurious content like the one above (which I promise to get to in a minute), this newspaper’s inability to spot the biggest news story of our lifetimes, and treat it with the heft it deserves, is journalistic malpractice, and a very real danger to our country.

The Times isn’t alone in its mishandling and disregard of the continuing attack on our country and its institutions that back it up. In fact, I can’t point to ONE so-called reputable news source in our “mainstream” media that has appropriately sounded the alarms, and given this perpetually breaking news story the treatment it demands.

There is not a single day that toddles by, when I don’t sit at my cluttered desk as the retired newspaperman I ultimately became, and stare at my keyboard wondering just what in the hell is being discussed in the newsrooms of our most foremost “news” operations in this nation.

Why have they abandoned us, and the most important story in the world?

Our country has been under steady attack for nearly four years now. Why aren’t our newsrooms on wartime footing? Bare minimum, why haven’t Democracy Desks been set up in these broken newsrooms staffed with journalists who do nothing but monitor the Republicans’ movements as they ruthlessly defend an attack on America, and go about annihilating truth, justice, and our right to even vote?

What news could possibly override monitoring the dangerous maneuvers of a sociopath, who is still free and on the loose after unleashing his rabid attack dogs to besiege our Capitol, stomp on law enforcement officials, seek out political leaders for harm and hanging, and prevent the certification of our vote, while doing nothingfor three hours except root for the attack’s success?

Backed by his morally busted political party, the son of a bitch means to finish us off whether or not he ever gets power again. He is the literal definition of a terrorist and/or an authoritarian strongman — a thug. He bows to murderous fascists like Putin, and openly revels in their success.

There’s not a single thing I have typed here that isn’t completely true. So what in the hell is going on with our addled media, and their disgusting refusal to do their jobs?

Why just the the other day, this pathetic man outdid even himself when he illegally barged into Arlington National Cemetery for a photo op. He once again disgraced our fallen, who he has called “suckers” and “losers” to get his wrinkled, orange mug in front of a camera.

My God. Now let’s pretend what would happen if Joe Biden or Kamala Harris did something like that …

It has been more than 160 years since a threat like this presented itself in the United States of America, and we know how that turned out. Hundreds of thousands dead and wounded, an assassinated president, cities in ruin, and the very real chance that America would not be able to rebuild itself again.

She did, but all these decades later, still walks with a limp from that horrific period in her life.

We are but 69 days from repeating all this, though it could be even worse this time, because if the enemies of our Democracy win this election they will have successfully breached our Capitol, and will be setting up headquarters in our White House.


The repugnant Confederacy, thank God, never made it that far last time.

So I ask again: Just what in the hell is being discussed in all these newsrooms while Trump bangs the drums of hate, follows the roadmap created for him in Project 2025, and backstopped by a radical, bought-off Supreme Court, bolstered by known election-deniers, promises retribution to anybody who dares get in his way?

Since that terrible attack on our Democracy began four years ago, our broken media has given us almost nothing but normalization and capitulation.


How else to explain this headline and the story it trumpeted written by one of the NYT’s leaders in its editorial department, Deputy Opinion Editor Patrick Healy:



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What matters most? You mean, the safety and well-being of our country and its citizens from those who would attack it?


Of course it didn’t mean that ...

That headline and the one I lead this piece with above topping an offensive, ridiculous slice of gaslighting by the ultra-Conservative Rich Lowry of the National Review, were splashed across the pages of The New York Times on Monday.

And let’s get this out of the way quickly: Yes, I understand that they were produced by the editorial department of this dumpster fire of a news source, but if that makes you feel any better about things, then they have you right where they want you: accepting that running this kind of propagandist bilge is acceptable.

It’s not.

It’s not from any news source that wants us to take them seriously, and displays the credibility that any reputable news organization must possess to serve its readership adequately.

My only plausible guess for the mainstream media’s failure to cover the attack on our country, besides sheer and incomprehensible incompetence, is that they are hedging their bets. Trump has been undeniably good for their bottom lines, which looks to me to be the only damn thing they truly care about.

If Trump goes away, so does the money. And what of the millions of dollars of tax cuts he’s promising to once again give the owners of these pompous rags?

Otherwise, there’s no making sense of any of this.

Regular readers will know that this is not the first time I have written about our media’s catastrophic failure to protect and inform us. And fair warning: Unless things radically change with the way our mainstream media comport themselves in the coming days, it won’t be the last.

I take these threats to our country and our media institutions very seriously, and I have learned many of you do, too. You (we) are owed a damn explanation for the greatest failure by our media in the 248-year history of our country.

We are furious about it, we have a right to be, and we deserve some damn answers PRONTO.

D. Earl Stephens is the author of “Toxic Tales: A Caustic Collection of Donald J. Trump’s Very Important Letters” and finished up a 30-year career in journalism as the Managing Editor of Stars and Stripes. Follow @EarlofEnough

Watch: J.D. Vance relentlessly booed by firefighters

Brad Reed
August 29, 2024 

Trump's pick for Vice President, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) arrives on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 15, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) did not exactly receive a warm reception when he spoke on Thursday before the International Association of Firefighters.

Vance, who talked to the group at its Boston conference one day after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz did the same, took to the podium to try to pitch himself and former President Donald Trump as Republicans who were of a different mold compared to past GOP administrations.

After being introduced by Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Vance took to the podium and thanked the audience — only to be greeted by boos.

"Semper fi, guys," Vance said in response. "Sounds like we've got some fans and we've got some haters, that's okay! Listen to what I have to say here, and I'll make my pitch."

Later in his speech, Vance touted the blue-collar bonafides of both himself and former President Donald Trump.

"President Trump and I are proud to be the most pro-worker Republican ticket in history," Vance began. "And I want to talk about why we're fighting for working people, why we're going to fight for unions and non-union alike."

At this point, Vance was again hit with a cascade of boos.

Watch the videos below or at this link.

Right-wing editor roasted for investigating whether Harris 'really' worked at McDonald's

Matthew Chapman
August 29, 2024 

Vice President Kamala Harris (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage / AFP)

One anecdote from Vice President Kamala Harris' middle-class upbringing on the campaign trail is that she worked a summer job at McDonald's after her freshman year of college to make ends meet. But Peter J. Hasson, editor of the right-wing Washington Free Beacon, tried to investigate whether this was really true — and ended up embarrassing himself.

"NEW: Kamala Harris’s missing 'summer job' at McDonald’s job," posted Hasson to X. "Her resume and job application a year after graduating college — [Free Beacon] obtained through FOIA — don’t mention it. Neither do either of her books, or either of the biographies on her." He posted the paper's report, written by Joseph Simonson, Chuck Ross, and Andrew Kerr, complete with scans of her original application to work in the district attorney's office.

But commenters on social media buried Hasson in mockery, with many people pointing out the obvious flaw in this investigation: people leave irrelevant details of their work history off of resumes and job applications all the time.

"This is a non-story. Plenty of people don't put their high-school jobs on their resume (partly because working at a fast food place as a 16-year-old often has no relevance or utility for most post-college employers)," wrote elections analyst Lakshya Jain.

"LOL - They’re checking to see if she put working at McDonalds on her post-grad resume?" wrote Maryville College history professor Aaron Astor. "I didn’t put my four years of working at a gas station on mine either. Wait, is this a serious article?"

"Imagine having McDonald’s on your resume applying to a law clerk position in an DA’s office," wrote investigative reporter Jacqueline Sweet.

"I wonder why Kamala Harris listed working at a law firm, Charles Schwab, and the FTC when applying for a legal job instead of McDonalds. Very suspicious!" wrote former White House economic adviser Brendan Duke.

Even Colin Wright, a fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute, also thought this investigation was silly.

"I don't know whether Harris ever actually worked at McDonalds, and don't particularly care. But I used to work a crappy job at a buffet called Fresh Choice after high school," he wrote. "I opened the door for customers and said 'Welcome to/Thank you for coming to Fresh Choice!' That was my job. When I went to college and started applying for research internships, I never mentioned Fresh Choice on my previous work experience. I only put down work and experience relevant to the position I was applying for ... If I was applying to a clerk position at a district attorney's office, I probably wouldn't list my summer job at McDonald's either. I'm not voting for Harris so it's not like I'm running defense for her, but this line of attack ain't it."

'This is new': Veterans highlight rarity of Army rebuke for Trump altercation at Arlington

2017 TRUMP AVOIDS OFFICIAL VISIT TO ARLINGTON BECAUSE OF RAIN

Sarah K. Burris
August 29, 2024 

Sgt. Phillip J. Reddick plays taps in honor of Staff Sgt. Darryl D. Booker and Col. Paul M. Kelly Nov. 16, 2013, at their Arlington National Cemetery grave sites (Photo by Virginia Guard Public Affairs)

Donald Trump and his campaign continue to experience backlash after the reported physical altercation with an Arlington National Cemetery official.

Trump welcomed the press to the wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Monday but didn't tell the press pool that he was headed to Section 60, where the altercation purportedly occurred. So, no media was on hand to observe the incident. The TikTok video showed photos of the wreath-laying from two different angles.

The Trump campaign told MSNBC on Wednesday that a video of the incident exists but refused to share it with him.

The U.S. Army released a statement on Thursday shaming the campaign staffer who reportedly shoved the cemetery official, prompting a lot of response.

The military is infamously non-political, so the fact that they released a statement rebuking Trump's campaign without saying his name is notable, a national security reporter for Politico explained on X.

"This is new stuff," said Paul McLeary.

"It has to be noted how rare a statement like this from the Army is. I covered the Army for four years and not sure I can recall something similar," CNN Pentagon reporter Haley Britzky agreed.

Veteran Paul Rieckhoff commented, "It's now clearly the Trump campaign's word against the US ARMY. Who you gonna believe?"

Marine and former Wall Street Journal correspondent Ben Kesling explored the controversy to explain why what Trump did was so unacceptable.

"You can't have your photo crew take photos even if one family consents. That's because other graves are included in those photos. And those families haven't given permission," he said. "More importantly, grieving families shouldn't feel pressured by powerful people to give consent. Section 60 is noteworthy because the graves are those of troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. People visiting those graves aren't distant relatives. It's moms and dads and wives and husbands and kids and friends and fellow troops.

 The grief is still very present."

Military.com reporter Konstantin Toropin agreed with Kesling, saying that the controversy could be confusing. "Like with so many topics, the former President is testing and exposing rules or traditions that have long laid under the surface because no one felt the need to push those limits."

Some former military officials are still furious about Trump's behavior in general.

"This is no way for a government official or political candidate to conduct themselves on the sacred ground of Section 60 at Arlington. The final resting place of so many heroic Americans -- including some who died under my command -- is not a political prop," said retired Admiral James Stavridis, USN on X.

Trump's campaign still maintains that the altercation never took place.

'Not something you do': Marine veteran appalled by Trump's thumbs-up pose at Arlington

Travis Gettys
August 29, 2024 

President Donald Trump walks from the west wing of the White House to Marine One in 2017. (Shutterstock.com)

A Marine Corps veteran who has written extensively about veterans issues condemned Donald Trump's behavior at Arlington National Cemetery.

Ben Kesling, who served as an infantry officer in Afghanistan and Iraq before working as a Wall Street Journal correspondent, analyzed the former president's photo opportunity with Gold Star families at the gravesites of two service members killed three years ago in the Abbey Gate bombing.

"The Trump campaign at Arlington controversy can be confusing," Kesling said on social media. "Here it is, broken down simply. You can’t bring your own photography crew to Arlington without permission. You can’t have your photo crew take photos even if one family consents. That’s because other graves are included in those photos. And those families haven’t given permission. More importantly, grieving families shouldn’t feel pressured by powerful people to give consent."

The Republican nominee's campaign team took photographs and recorded video later posted online of Trump and the supportive families in Section 60, which contains the graves of troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and federal law prohibits political campaign activities, including photos and video, in that area.

"People visiting those graves aren’t distant relatives," Kesling wrote. "It’s moms and dads and wives and husbands and kids and friends and fellow troops. The grief is still very present."

Two campaign staffers allegedly engaged in a verbal and physical altercation with a cemetery staffer who tried to enforce the rules against partisan activities, but she reportedly declined to press criminal charges because she feared retaliation from Trump supporters.

"The staff at Arlington aren’t being political when they prevent photo crews from taking unauthorized photos," Kesling said. "The staff is being apolitical. They’re being professional. They’re upholding the dignity of Arlington."

Kesling expressed disgust at the former president for posing with his customary thumbs-up grin at the gravesite of a fallen service member.

"I have been to Arlington many times and I have never seen someone grinning and giving a thumbs up for a photo," Kesling said. "I’ve never seen it because it’s not something you do at Arlington if you know anything about the place, and the men and women who are buried there."

Megachurch congregation implodes in wake of MAGA pastor sex scandal

Travis Gettys
August 29, 2024 

Evangelical worshippers (Photo by Larry Marano for Shutterstock)

Congregants are streaming out the doors of a Texas megachurch after another pastor resigned over an undisclosed "moral issue."

Gateway Church founder Robert Morris stepped down in June after allegations surfaced that he had sexually abused a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s, and executive pastor Kemtal Glasgow became the fourth pastor since then to resign as the number of worshipers dwindles each Sunday, reported CNN.

“It’s anger, it’s all the range of emotions,” said Emily High, who quit attending services at the church shortly after the allegations came to light. “Being a pedophile, a molester, that’s not okay.”

A spokesman said the church, which was recently renamed Newlands Church, has seen a decrease of 17 percent to 19 percent of weekend service attendance since Cindy Clemishire, now 54, went public with her allegations that Morris, who served as a spiritual adviser to former president Donald Trump, had molested her over a period of five years.

Morris admitted a short time later to having “inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady” decades earlier, and the church initially said he had been been “open and forthright about a moral failure" and had undergone a two-year “restoration process,” but he resigned days later.

“As an elder, I did not know the truth, and frankly, like so many of you, my wife and I are shocked, devastated and grieving,” said megachurch elder Tra Willbanks, during a church service in June.

The board said Morris had discussed the inappropriate relationship with them many times, but members said he assured them that had taken place before founding the congregation and never mentioned it involved a child.

The founding pastor's son James Morris had been expected to become lead pastor next year, but he and his wife Bridgette resigned after he was asked to take a leave of absence while an independent law firm conducted a review of the abuse allegations.


Three current elders who served on the board from 2005 to 2007 were placed on leave during that review following a recommendation from the law firm, but all three said they had "no knowledge of the true facts of this situation."

Oscar-winner blasts Trump's 'mean' handling of migrant children

Venice (AFP) – Film legend Errol Morris said the separation of thousands of migrant children from their parents by Donald Trump's US administration was "inhumane and cruel" as his new documentary about the policy premiered at the Venice Film Festival Thursday.


Issued on: 29/08/2024 -

Legendary US documentary director Errol Morris (R) and US journalist Jacob Soboroff before the premiere of "Separated" at the Venice Film Festival 

© Marco BERTORELLO / AFP

"Do we need borders? Do we need immigration law? We do," the Oscar-winning US director told AFP ahead of the screening of his film "Separated". "But the idea is laws should be fair and humane."

"And this particular policy struck me, still strikes me, as inhumane, as cruel as mean."

In 2017, during Donald Trump's first year as US president, his administration raised the idea of separating children from their parents as a way to deter illegal immigration -- a key plank of his campaign.

Officially launched in April 2018, the "zero-tolerance" policy allowed criminal proceedings to be brought against anyone who crossed the US-Mexico border illegally, resulting in parents being immediately taken into custody without their children.

According to the documentary, which cited official government figures, at least 4,227 children were taken from their parents -- and more than 1,000 are still separated.

"What horrifies me is that they didn't keep records. They separated families in such a way that it might be impossible ever to reunite them," said Morris, 76.

The veteran director won an Oscar in 2004 for "The Fog of War", an astonishingly frank account of the Vietnam War by one its architects, former US secretary of defence Robert McNamara.

Divisive

Morris's new film -- being shown out of competition in Venice -- is based on a book by US journalist Jacob Soboroff, who helped expose the desperate plight of the children.

"He had called me and asked me if I knew anybody who might be willing to turn his book into a movie... I volunteered myself," Morris said.

The documentary is largely based on statements by Jonathan White, who was deputy director of the US Office for Refugee Resettlement (ORR) at the time and who opposed the policy applied by his superior, Scott Lloyd, who is also interviewed.

Lawsuits and a public outcry, even among Trump's own Republican Party, forced the administration by mid-2018 to halt the separations.

In practice, however, the Trump administration continued to separate families under another regulation which allowed undocumented parents to be arrested and deported if they had committed a serious crime.

Immigration remains a hugely divisive issue for many Americans ahead of November's presidential election, in which Trump is running against Vice President Kamala Harris.

A recent official US report found the government may have lost track of up to 32,000 unaccompanied migrant children in the past four years.

© 2024 AFP

The future of Switzerland's famed neutrality in doubt?


Issued on: 29/08/2024 

Video by:Delano D'SOUZAFollow

A new report out in Switzerland today sets out the impetus for security policy in the years to come. The country has prided itself on its neutrality, but since the war in Ukraine, could things start to change? Delano DSouza reports.

 

Switzerland 'realising it needs to partner more with NATO' as neutrality put in doubt


Issued on: 29/08/2024

As a bombshell new report commissioned by the Swiss Defense Ministry urges the country to work more closely with NATO, casting doubt on the future of a long-held policy of neutrality, Swiss journalist Richard Werly joins France 24 to discuss how Switzerland needs to adapt to a changing global security picture, particularly amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Coastal cities alarmingly slow to adapt to climate change: study

Paris (AFP) – Coastal cities are not doing enough to adapt to climate change, taking too long and implementing insufficient measures, according to a major study published this week.

Issued on: 29/08/2024 

ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP/File

While flood barriers and pumping systems are a step in the right direction, "across all regions and income groups, scientifically reported adaptation in coastal cities remains at rather low depth, scope and speed," said the study published in Nature Cities, which looked at 199 cities worldwide.

Given the high exposure and vulnerability of many coastal cities, "this finding is alarming as adaptation to future climate change will require many cities to go beyond business as usual risk management," it said.

Short- and mid-term solutions, as many cities are implementing, could even have an adverse effect, the study warned, leading to a "lock-in and maladaptive path dependency in the long-term."

Instead, adaptation must aim at "transformation" of cities -- a change both of infrastructure and at the institutional level.

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Positive models cited in the report include Singapore, Hong Kong and several Swedish cities.

But in the majority, the study found that coastal cities focus primarily on combating sea level rise, various types of flooding, and to a lesser extent the risks posed by erosion and storms.

And for scientists such a scope is too narrow -- cities need to address other problems linked to climate change, such as heatwaves.
Institutions and households

By comparing data from 199 cities, listed in 683 scientific articles, the researchers found that the actors driving adaptation changed according to the country and income category.

The richest coastal areas take a technological approach to dealing with climate change and the major players are institutions.

Meanwhile, lower-income cities located mainly in Africa, Asia, and South and Central America, have no other choice but to rely on a "behavioural and cultural" effort for populations to adapt.

In lower-income coastal cities, there is a lack of institutional and/or technological support, making it "more likely individuals/households are reported as prime adaptation actors."

The poorest economies remain under-represented in the scientific literature, which complicates their adaptation.

"A considerable gap in research that needs to be addressed urgently," the study warned.

© 2024 AFP

'We need to evolve': Paralympic athletes showcased every four years but largely out of the spotlight


Issued on: 29/08/2024 

Medals are up for grabs in a wide array of world-class competitions at the Paris Paralympics, which opened in a colourful and hope-filled ceremony ahead of 11 days of competition. The action includes track, cycling, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, badminton, archery, goalball -- a form of football for the visually impaired -- and boccia, a version of bowls. French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Games open on Wednesday during a ceremony in a balmy Place de la Concorde in central Paris -- the first time a Paralympic opening ceremony has taken place away from the main stadium. The 4,400 competitors from 168 delegations paraded into the arena as the sun set with host nation France entering last to a standing ovation from 30,000 spectators. The fine weather was in sharp contrast to the heavy rain which fell throughout the Olympics opening ceremony on July 26. International Paralympic Committee (IPC) president Andrew Parsons told the athletes and spectators he hoped for an "inclusion revolution", before Macron officially declared the Games open. The Paralympic flag was carried into the square by John McFall, a British Paralympic sprinter who has been selected by the European Space Agency to be the first 'parastronaut'. French Olympian Florent Manaudou brought the flame into the arena to complete the four-day torch relay. Five French Paralympians, including 2020 gold medallists Alexis Hanquinquant and Nantenin Keita, lit the already-iconic cauldron in the Tuileries Gardens. Of the 35 Olympic venues, 18 will be used for the Paralympics including the ornate Grand Palais and the Stade de France. For a look at all of the world-class action, FRANCE 24 is joined by Alasdair Donaldson, Head of Para Sport at Loughborough University.

Paris Paralympics 'highlighting challenges faced by all disabled people'

Issued on: 29/08/2024 
04:14

Danielle Brown, a former Paralympic archer who won gold for Great Britain in Beijing and London, joins France 24 to talk about what she's looking forward to at the Paris Paralympics following last night's spectacular opening ceremony, which she praised for highlighting the daily challenges faced by all disabled people, not just athletes.