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6th district candidate raffling off AR-15

Tim Darnell , WXIA 10:18 PM. EST March 06, 2017

IMAGE AMY KREMER

Eleventh in a series of profiles of candidates in the 6th congressional special election.

MARIETTA, Ga Raffling off an AR-15 in a political campaign may sound provocative, but to Amy Kremer, it signifies her strong support of the 2nd amendment.

Giveaways like these have been done in a lot of campaigns; I wish I could take credit for it, said Kremer, one of 18 candidates seeking to replace Tom Price in the 6th congressional district. We are very pro-2nd Amendment not only in Georgia but in the south.

Kremer is a native of the 6th district, and was one of the founders of the Tea Party. She co-founded the Tea Party Patriots and is former chairperson of the Tea Party Express.

We need more conservatives in Washington, Kremer said. The GOP is dragging its feet in terms of rejecting Obamacare and implementing the presidents initiatives. I worked with Tom Price to fight against Obamacare before it was even called Obamacare.

Kremer remembers when the intersection of Sandy Plains and Shallowford roads was a four-way intersection with a stop sign, and where we used to sell Krispy Kreme doughnuts for fundraisers.

Most of the work Ive done has been on the national level but benefited the people of this district.

The district includes portions of Atlanta, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Dunwoody, Doraville, Tucker, Sandy Springs, Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek Milton and Mountain Park. Before it was last redrawn as part of Census reapportionment, Republicans Newt Gingrich and Johnny Isakson held the seat.

Kremers campaign is raffling off a CQB .300 Blackout, which has a retail value of $2,500. For every $25 donated to her campaign, entrants will receive one entry ticket. For every $100, five entries will be made, with a maximum of 108 donations/135 entries.

The special election to replace Price, who is now President Donald Trumps secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is set for April 18. All of the candidates will appear on one ballot, and a runoff is virtually assured in the race. The only way to avoid a runoff would be if one candidate receives 50 percent-plus-one on April 18, almost an impossibility in such a crowded race.

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Race to replace Price: Tea Party original raffling off AR-15 in 6th district race - 11alive.com

Arthur, Ill - It's almost spring and time for tea!

Our guest chef, Anita Dukeman, and Sarah Betts, tea expert, are sharing about the health benefits of tea--helps boost energy and curbs appetite for weight loss. The four different teashighlighted are Matcha, Green tea, Oolong tea, and Black tea.

Crunchy Chicken Salad

Ingredients

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and diced (rotisserie chicken works)

1 stalk celery, diced

4 green onions, chopped

1 apple, cored and diced (I use Granny Smith or Honey Crisp)

1/3 cup craisins

1/3 cup seedless red or green grapes, halved

1/2 cup chopped candied or toasted pecans (raw pecans will also work)

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

teaspoon salt or seasoning salt (to taste)

-1 cup mayonnaise

Directions

In a large bowl, COMBINE the chicken, celery, onion, apple, craisins, grapes, pecans, curry powder, salt and mayonnaise. MIX together until well combined. SERVE on croissant or lettuce.

Tastes best if prepared the day before serving to allow flavors to come together while in the fridge.

You may need to add a teaspoon or so of extra mayo just before serving to add a little extra moisture.

SERVE on a lettuce leaf or a croissant.

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Let's have a tea party! - IllinoisHomePage.net

Former International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland answers a question during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, October 24, 2016. (Adrian Wyld/CP)

OTTAWA The Liberal government on Monday extended its military training mission in Ukraine, amid warnings Russia could attempt to destabilize Canadas political system.

But while largely welcomed by the Ukrainian government, the extension is being criticized by the Opposition for not going far enough in helping deal with a new outbreak of violence in the country.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Canadian military trainers will remain in Ukraine until at least March 2019.

Canada has had about 200 trainers in the eastern European country since the summer of 2015, where they have taught about 3,200 Ukrainian troops the basics of soldiering as well as some advanced skills.

But the mission, which began after Russia annexed Crimea and began supporting separatist forces in Ukraines Donbass region, had been set to expire at the end of this month.

Sajjan said the extension was intended to show Canadas unwavering commitment to Ukraine, while sending a very strong message to Russia that its actions will not be tolerated.

It is Russias actions that have caused us to do this, Sajjan said during a news conference with Freeland outside the House of Commons, where the two ministers were flanked by more than a dozen Liberal MPs.

Crimea, Ukraine and some of the other actions that they have taken. So thats something we always have to put into context. It is their actions that are making us to respond in this manner.

At one point, Freeland suggested those actions could also include trying to interfere in or destabilize Canadas political system as Russia is accused of having done in the United States.

There have been efforts, as U.S. intelligence forces have said, by Russia to destabilize the U.S. political system, she said, referring to allegations the Kremlin tried to influence last years presidential election.

I think that Canadians, and indeed other western countries, should be prepared for similar efforts to be directed at us.

Mondays announcement was highly anticipated after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko publicly appealed for an extension when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Kyiv last July.

Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Shevchenko said his country is grateful for Canadas continued support, particularly after the worst outbreak of violence in eastern Ukraine since 2015.

Dozens of soldiers and civilians were killed in the region in February, raising fears that what had already been a tenuous ceasefire between the Ukrainian government in Kyiv and Russian-backed rebels was dead.

Nearly 10,000 people have been killed since fighting erupted in April 2014, and hundreds of thousands more have been forced from their homes.

We welcome this news with great gratitude to the Canadian people and with hope that this will bring more security both for Ukraine and Canada, Shevchenko said.

To Ukrainians, its a sign of solidarity. To Russia, its a very strong signal of deterrence. And to the world, I think its a very powerful message of global leadership in dealing with global threats and global issues.

But Shevchenko said his country still needs assistance in other areas, particularly lethal aid such as anti-tank weapons as well as satellite imagery to track rebel and Russian troop movements.

Ukraine has been pressing for such lethal aid for years, but the ambassador said the recent fighting really shows that we need these weapons just as bad as we needed them in the beginning of the war.

Canada, meanwhile, did provide satellite imagery under the previous Conservative government, but the Liberals stopped the practice when they came to power.

Conservative foreign affairs critic Peter Kent criticized the Liberals bare-bones mission extension, saying it fell far short of what was needed, given the new surge in violence.

That includes a resumption in the sharing of satellite imagery and the provision of weapons, which the Tories also refused to provide but which Kent said is now necessary, given the uptick in fighting.

Our worst concerns have been realized today with a bare-bones extension of Operation Unifier, which doesnt recognize the very changed situation in eastern Ukraine, he said. We are disappointed.

Russian Embassy spokesman Kirill Kalinin, meanwhile, released a statement describing the extension as counterproductive and calling on Canada to pressure Ukraine to sue for peace with the rebels.

Continue reading here:
Liberals extend Ukraine mission to 2019, but face criticism - Macleans.ca

KIEV Ukraine's central bank said on Tuesday it was likely to recommend the introduction of sanctions on the local subsidiary of Sberbank over the Russian lender's decision to recognize passports issued by separatists in eastern Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Kremlin-owned Sberbank said it would comply with an order from President Vladimir Putin in February for Russian authorities to recognize identity documents issued in the separatist-held regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in east Ukraine.

"If this information is confirmed, the central bank will raise with the National Security and Defence Council the question of introducing sanctions on the subsidiary of Russia's Sberbank in Ukraine," the Ukrainian central bank said in a statement.

It did not say what form sanctions would take or if restrictions would be applied to other Kremlin-owned banks operating in Ukraine.

Five Russian state-owned banks are present in Ukraine, including three in the top 20, and they hold a combined market share of 8.6 percent.

The central bank has sought to cut that following a breakdown in bilateral relations in 2014 due to Moscow's annexation of Crimea and support for the pro-Russian separatists.

Following Putin's order, Sberbank said in emailed comments on Tuesday that it "is currently prepared to provide services in all affiliated branches to individuals with passports from the DNR and LNR," referring to the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk separatist republics in eastern Ukraine.

It is not yet clear how the other Kremlin-owned banks operating in Ukraine are handling Putin's order.

(Reporting by Natalia Zinets; Additional reporting Alexander Winning in Moscow; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; editing by David Stamp)

KABUL Gunmen dressed as doctors attacked a military hospital close to the U.S. embassy in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Wednesday and were engaging security forces inside the building, officials and witnesses said.

BEIRUT A U.S. Navy ship changed course in the Hormuz Strait on Saturday toward Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessels, a guards commander was quoted as saying on Tuesday while issuing a warning.

SEOUL A man claiming to be the son of the slain, estranged half brother of North Korea's leader said he was lying low with his mother and sister, in a video posted online by a group that said it helped rescue them following the murder a month ago.

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Ukraine eyes sanctions on subsidiary of Russia's Sberbank - Reuters

The first major legal test of the Ukrainian government's commitment to fightcorruption is playing out in a courtroom in Kyiv, where the 38-year-oldhead of the country's tax and customs servicehas been accused of embezzlingmore than $99 million Cdn in public funds.

So far, it's not going well.

Roman Nasirovwasarrested on Friday by a new anti-corruption institution in Ukraine called the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU). Not long after the arrest, Nasirov'steam issued a statement claiming the young official had suffered a heart attack. He was wheeled into the courthouse on a stretcher, surrounded by both lawyers and medical professionals.

But for some, the illness lookedlike a stalling tactic. As the clock ticked down on a 72-hour time limit on Nasirov's detention, itbecame increasingly clear to Ukrainians that no judge would hear the case over the weekend.

Ukrainian investigative journalistKristina Berdynskykh said it was less than surprising to see the judicial system fail to act.

"Judicial reform has not worked,"she said, "so courts may be the biggest obstacle to anti-corruption bodies. Not all the judges are corrupt, but there are fewer honest judges than dishonest ones."

Ukrainian civil society ultimately took matters into their own hands.

On Sunday night, they blockaded the courthouse, essentially sealingNasirovinside, so that he had no chance toleavewhen the anti-corruption bureau'sdetention period expired at midnight.

People gather outside a court building to prevent the release of head of Ukraine's tax and customs service, who is under investigation over the suspected embezzlement. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

Hundreds of protesters stood outside the courthouse well into Monday morning. Finally, a judge was found to hear the case. The hearing has been ongoing throughout the day, and a decision is expected tonight.

If the judge drops the charges and releasesNasirov, it's likely that protesters will once again block the courthouse and prevent the accused official from leaving.

It's not yet clear how the case will unfold.

But Daria Kaleniuk,executive director of the anti-corruption action centre in Ukraine, said she understands fromNABUand the prosecutors "that they want bail set at the estimated amount of losses, which stands around $2 billion Ukrainian hryvnias."

That converts tomore than $99 million Cdn.

Throughout the period of independence after the breakup of the Soviet Union, Ukrainians have faced years of broken promises, dysfunction, and a plague of government corruption. The corruption, especially, was everywhere. In every official office, every bureaucratic decision, every business transaction, there was the likelihood of graft.

Ukraine's battle with corruption took a monumental leap in 2013, when Ukrainian journalist Mustafa Nayyem wrote a Facebook post that sparked a small group of Ukrainian citizens to take to the streets. At that time, they were protesting against their government's backtracking on an association agreement with the EU. That long-promised agreement was scrapped in favor of closer ties with Russia by the government of President Viktor Yanukovych.

Nasirov and his attorney attend a court hearing on Monday. At first lawyers said Nasirov had a heart attack, but medical documents later confirmed he hadn't had a heart attack. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

The 2013 protests soon became something much greater, drawing over a million people to Kyiv, and culminating in the ouster of the country's president in 2014.

It's been three years since the former president fled the country, and in that time, the anti-corruption ideals of the revolution have faced their fair share of tests. Civil society's attention and resources were drawn away when the country's southern region of Crimea was annexed by Russia, and then combined Russian-separatist forces waged war in the country's eastern regions. Since then, nearly 10,000 people have died according to the UN, and 1.8 million have been displaced.

Yet three years on from that historic event, perhaps the greatest test that the anti-corruption movement has faced is from its own government. The country still ranks 131st out of 176 countries in Transparency International's corruption index.

Citizens across the country feel that little, if any, progress has been made in cracking down on corrupt officials or reforming the government since the revolution. If the events of the past weekend gain traction,they could be seen as a watershed moment in Ukrainian civil society's fight against corruption.

Once again, Mustafa Nayyem, now a member of Ukraine's parliament, was instrumental in the call to action. A Facebook post from the young MPon Sunday inspired citizens to block access to and from thecourthouse where Nasirov was being held.

"The arrest of Nasirov was the first arrest of a serving high-ranking official in Ukraine's 25-year history," said Kaleniuk, the executive director of the anti-corruption action center in Ukraine. "It finally shows Ukrainians that there's a light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to getting rid of corruption."

In Ukraine,many people consider this casea line in the sand. Either it's used to build trust in the system, or possibly erode what little is left.

"If he's charged, it shows that those who are known to be untouchable also have to face justice," saidKaleniuk. "It shows that politicians and officials who are sitting at the top positions will be held responsible."

Originally posted here:
Protesters block courthouse after Ukrainian tax boss accused of embezzling millions - CBC.ca