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Donald Trump Jr. met with a Russian lawyer who promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton during his father's presidential campaign, after being told the information was "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump." (Elyse Samuels,Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

Hysteria among the media and Trump opponents over the prospect of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin may have hit its crescendo this week. Thats right: The wailing from the media and their allies about Donald Trump Jr.s meeting with some Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer (whatever that means) may be the last gasp of this faux scandal. Good riddance.

Predictably, the New York Times started the ball rolling with front-page coverage, going so far as to argue, The accounts of the meeting represent the first public indication that at least some in the campaign were willing to accept Russian help. As if this were some breakthrough moment. The Times followed up with a headline yesterday that the meeting request and subject matter discussed in the prior story weretransmitted to Trump Jr. via an email. Holy cow. The Times is so desperate to move the story that the meetings arrangement over email is being made into Page 1 news. You would have thought it had come through a dead drop under a bridge somewhere.

[New York Times reporter on Donald Trump Jr.s claim of transparency: Nonsense]

And, of course, CNN has been apoplectic in its breathless coverage, running one story after another about this development on the air and online. But Politico takes the prize for the most over-the-top, made-up news, claimingthat Donald Trump Jr.s meeting could amount to a crime.

As I have written before, there are always people hovering around campaigns trying to peddle information and traffic in supposed silver bullets. There should be nothing to report on when a private citizen who works at a campaign takes a meeting with a friend of a friend offering information about an opponent. And yet, the media wants to make it a smoking gun.

If taking meetings with such people is a crime, then I hope there is a statute of limitations because I would have been a repeat offender.

Dont get me wrong. Trump Jr. should not have taken the meeting. These offers of information on the down-low are greeted with eye-rolling, and red flags are almost always clearly visible. No senior campaign official, much less a family member of the candidate, should take such a meeting.

Having the meeting was a rookie, amateur mistake. Between human curiosity and a campaign professionals duty to get the dirt when you can, Trump Jr. likely felt that the person had to be heard. In a normal case, the meeting should have been handed off to a lackey. Said lackey would have then reported the scoop or lack thereof and awaited further instruction.

White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said there was nothing inappropriate about a meeting Donald Trump Jr. had with a Russian attorney during the campaign last year. (Reuters)

However, after seeing todays email exchange dump from Trump Jr., it is easy to see that the meeting should have never happened. Period.

I double down on the idea that this meeting was a rookie, amateur mistake. Even the lackey should not have taken this meeting. It was bad judgment, but not collaboration with the Russians.

Just imagine: Trump Jr. is sitting there when he gets an email from a music promoter screaming with red flags and some comical language (does Russia even have a Crown prosecutor?) and he takes the bait. Wince! Anybody should have known better.

Anyway, Trump Jr. took the one-off meeting, and nothing happened. Is that not proof of non-collusion in and of itself? If you choose to believe otherwise, your disdain for President Trump is getting the best of you and you need help.

[Why in the world would Donald Trump Jr. take this meeting?]

Regarding the delusion that a crime actually occurred in any of this, my favorite allegation is that by having this meeting and listening to what was said, Donald Trump Jr. somehow could have violated the law. According to Politico, Trump Jr.s statements put him potentially in legal cross hairs for violating federal criminal statutes prohibiting solicitation or acceptance of anything of value from a foreign national, as well as a conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Im just barely a lawyer, but I know over-lawyering when I see it. I mean, by that standard, what if someone walked into a campaign and suggested an idea that led to that candidates victory? Would it have been a crime to accept a thing of value in the form of an idea? Of course not.

This whole thing is getting weird.

For many in the media and elsewhere, the collective grievances that they have against Trump personally, the White House as a whole and Trumps policies somehow justify their zealous promotion of the collusionscandal. But not because the story is valid. Rather, the media know that they are not getting to Trump with anything else. Today, much of the news coverage of Trump and Co. is about payback. The media thinks they arent getting the truth and so they dont have to deliver it either. It is a bad cycle that is not working for the White House or the media.With this much intensity, it is hard to see how this ends well.

Read more from the original source:
The media's mass hysteria over 'collusion' is out of control - Washington Post (blog)

Wall Street Journal (subscription)

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Bertelsmann Tightens Control Over Penguin Random House - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

With public-health experts gathering in for the London Summit on Family Planning, the United Colors of Benetton and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are introducing new ad campaigns meant to raise awareness about global access to birth control.

Called Power Her Choices, one campaign, created by Fabrica, Benettons in-house communication center, centers on a light bulb shaped like a womb, as well as a light installation with lit bulbs spelling phrases, changing the words I am pregnant to I am not ready to be pregnant. GIFs from the video are also being distributed on social media.

The idea behind the campaign is raising awareness, Omar Gharzeddine, a media specialist with the United Nations Population Fund, tells Marketing Daily, especially about access to contraceptives in the developing world.

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More than 214 million women dont have access to modern contraceptives, and he says that in 2016, about 770,000 girls, some as young as 10, had children, often with devastating effects on their health and future, the UNFPA reports. In sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, an estimated 25 percent of young women leave school due to an unintended pregnancy.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a co-host of the summit, is also running a video on social media, featuring a young British woman denied birth-control billsand even condomsby her doctor, clinics and pharmacists. Imagine if it was this hard to get the contraceptive advice, support and access you need, the dystopian spot asks, adding thats its a reality for many women. Access to contraceptives enables women to make informed decisions about their health and future, unlocking a cycle of prosperity that benefits everyone, the foundation says about the ad. It's time to give every woman and girl the opportunity to plan for#HerFuture.

Its the second womens empowerment campaign from Benetton this year. Earlier this spring, it made a splash with its global United By Half ad, a gender-equality effort linked to International Womens Day.

Originally posted here:
Benetton, Gates Foundation Launch Birth Control Ads - MediaPost Communications

A water diversion system along Willow Waterhole is part of a broader $480 million effort.

Harris County is making progress on a local flood control project. Crews are now working on the last part of a storm water retention basin located off South Post Oak Road, one of many efforts in the Houston area to keep streets and homes from flooding.

You probably already know that flooding is a major problem in the city, but you might not realize just how easily it can happen.

When you get these intense, localized downpours, the street drains arent designed for much more than about two inches an hour, says Gary Zika, Federal Projects Manager for the Harris County Flood Control District.

Zika says about 700,000 people live in the Brays Bayou watershed. A $480 million project aims to keep water out of homes in the area with a series of interconnected channels and retention ponds.

In about a year, the Willow Waterhole part of that system will be complete.

Its nature and gravity, Zika says. Water gets to a certain level, it overflows into the detention basin, and then when the water in the bayou goes down, the detention basins drain out.

According to Zika, these detention systems can keep water levels in the bayous two or three feet lower during heavy rains, but he says they cant control every storm.

Even when we have our project done, youre still going to have street flooding, he says. If you have a storm event that dumps four or five inches in an hour, not only will you have street flooding, but youll also have house flooding, because the water cant even get into the bayous that fast.

Still, the projects have had some success. Zika says the county found that during the deadly Memorial Day flooding of 2015, the Willow Waterhole system kept water out of about 5,000 homes.

Continue reading here:
Brays Bayou Flood Control Project Moves Forward - Houston Public Media

This comes after two Afghan diplomats recently insulted government and made bold political statements on their Facebook pages.

Concerns have been raised over inappropriate social media posts by diplomats and officials who take to Facebook to lash out at government.

Two senior Afghan diplomats recently hit out at government and made bold political statements.

In one instance, Afghan Consul General in Vancouver, Canada, Mohammad Salem Wahdat slammed government for not executing terrorist backers and their sympathizers.

Wahdat also singled out the Ministry of Interior.

He said: Our soldiers should be able to defend their rights . if their voice is suffocated in the ministry of interior when corruption is at its peak, large-scale corruption will increase. This was in relation to allegations having been made that food for soldiers was not reaching them and that the quality was extremely poor.

Another diplomat, cultural attach of Afghanistan to Washington DC, Majeed Qarar, also used Facebook to hit out at government and to make political statements.

Qarar has in the past referred to some individuals and certain circles as gangsters and recently posted: Freedom of speech, civil activities and other decorative terminology is used by warlords to justify their defiance.

In another post, he said: "Pakistan is looking for new customers but Putin rejected their invitation." Below that he used a photograph of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Russian President Vladimir Putin - which made it look like Sharif was saying to Putin: Why not: We are ready to commit adultery forRussia. Don't worry about this.

When contacted for comment, Qarar said his Facebook posts were his personal views while Wahdat said his posts were not considered an issue in Afghanistan.

Qarar meanwhile said: A civil servant can express his views even about his employer; there is no legal restriction in this respect.

President Ashraf Ghanis spokesman Shahussain Murtazawi said government expected its officials to use social media responsibly.

Our expectation is that social media users, use social media positively and spread the message of peace, solidarity and friendship instead of spreading hate, said Murtazawi.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) also responded and said it would draw up a social media policy for its staff. MoFA officials also made it clear that officials may not use government equipment for personal reasons.

But legal experts have said diplomats are official representatives of their governments and therefore social media postings should be handled responsibly. They also said a clear social media policy should be implemented.

The views expressed by a government official represents the views of his government, especially diplomats who are the authorized representatives of their country abroad, said legal expert Wahid Farzayee.

Journalists and media rights activists also raised concerns and said they have long called for such a policy to be implemented.

Head of NAI (Organization Supporting Open Media in Afghanistan), Mujib Khalwatgar, said an amendment to Afghanistans media law includes an article on social media usage.

We hope that lawmakers in the national assembly will address the matter once the draft [law] is referred to parliament, he said.

Read more:
Calls Mount For More Control Over Social Media Postings - TOLOnews