Trump’s businesses have never been under more fire, and they’re facing their ‘greatest challenge’ yet

• President Donald Trump’s business is under intense scrutiny unlike any time prior in his presidency.
• The special counsel Robert Mueller subpoenaed the Trump Organization for documents.
• Adult film star Stormy Daniels is seeking documentation from the company related to the $130,000 payment she received from Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.
• Lastly, there is a potentially huge emoluments clause lawsuit that a federal judge said can go forward.

Never before has President Donald Trump’s business come under the kind of fire it has in recent weeks.

Simultaneously, the Trump Organization is faced with three pieces of high-stakes litigation:

• The special counsel Robert Mueller has subpoenaed the company for documents as a part of his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
• Stormy Daniels, the adult film star whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, is seeking all internal company documents that have any relation to the $130,000 payment top Trump attorney Michael Cohen sent prior to the 2016 election — so she would stay quiet about an affair she says she had with Trump.
• The attorneys general for Washington, DC, and Maryland filed a lawsuit that claims Trump took “emoluments,” or gifts from state and foreign-government officials, in violation of the Constitution. That lawsuit cleared an initial hurdle that no similar prior lawsuit had passed, with a federal judge ruling that the case can move forward.

Trump’s Lawyer: It’s Time to End the Mueller Probe

The president’s personal attorney hopes Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein follows ‘the brilliant and courageous example’ of Sessions, who just fired Andrew McCabe.

President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, John Dowd, told The Daily Beast on Saturday morning that he hopes Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will shut down Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russia’s election interference.

Reached for comment by email about the firing of former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, Dowd sent The Daily Beast the text of Trump’s most recent tweet on the subject, which applauded the dismissal.

“I pray that Acting Attorney General Rosenstein will follow the brilliant and courageous example of the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility and Attorney General Jeff Sessions and bring an end to alleged Russia Collusion investigation manufactured by McCabe’s boss James Comey based upon a fraudulent and corrupt Dossier,” Dowd then wrote.

‘He doesn’t follow anyone’s advice’: Trump’s conversations with witnesses about the Russia probe may have opened him up to 3 major risks

• President Donald Trump’s reported decision to speak to witnesses in the Russia probe about their interviews with special counsel Robert Mueller indicates a previously unseen level of involvement in the investigation.
• If Trump did discuss matters relevant to the investigation with critical witnesses, there are three major risks he could be opening himself up to.
• It could be perceived as an attempt to interfere with the investigative process.

A critical Russia probe witness may have poked a huge hole in the Trump team’s story about a mysterious Seychelles meeting

• George Nader, a little-known but critical witness in the Russia probe, has reportedly contradicted key portions of Trump associate Erik Prince’s testimony before the House Intelligence Committee last year.
• Prince told lawmakers that his meeting with Kirill Dmitriev, the head of a sanctioned Russian investment fund in the Seychelles in January 2017 happened by chance, and that he was introduced to the Russian by potential business customers in the United Arab Emirates.
• Nader, meanwhile, has reportedly told prosecutors that the Seychelles meeting was set up in advance to open a Trump-Russia back-channel, and that the Emirates were not the ones who introduced Prince and Dmitriev.

Mueller’s leaked ‘hit list’ may indicate he’s treating Trump’s team like a ‘criminal enterprise’

• A Grand Jury subpoena from special counsel Robert Mueller’s team reportedly targets the majority of Donald Trump’s senior campaign team, including the president.
• Axios, a news website, reported that Mueller will subpoena all communications since November 1, 2015, from nine leaders of Trump’s campaign.
• A former CIA agent said the subpoena indicates Mueller is treating Trump’s team like a “criminal enterprise.”

‘This is not going to end well’: Trump’s friends and allies are worried he’s spiraling out of control — and they say this time is different

• President Donald Trump has become increasingly emotionally unstable in recent weeks, and his friends blame this on his obsession with TV coverage and defensiveness in the face of perceived attacks against him.
• “The more pressure put on him and the more isolated he becomes, I think, his ability to do harm is going to increase,” one person told the Washington Post.
• Trump has felt hampered by the Russia investigation and the scandals surrounding his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner.
• His recently unstable demeanor was reflected in freewheeling policy decisions and behaviors this week.

---

President Donald Trump’s friends and confidantes are reportedly more worried about his emotional health than ever before.

As Trump becomes ever more focused on perceived attacks against him, constantly obsesses over TV coverage, and lashes out at friends and foes alike in public, many close to him say he is approaching “pure madness,” according to the Washington Post.

Russia moves to block Navalny’s latest investigation

Russia’s communications oversight agency is moving to block access to an investigation published online by opposition leader Alexei Navalny alleging that Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodko received lavish hospitality from billionaire Oleg Deripaska.

The tycoon has been linked to President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who has been indicted in U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

The agency, Roskomnadzor, said Saturday it has placed the investigation, which was published Thursday on the website of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, and a YouTube video of it, on its register of sites containing information not to be distributed in Russia, according to Russian news agencies.

The sites have three days after the notification to remove the material before being blocked.

A clash between Trump and Mueller over an interview could set the stage for a Supreme Court showdown

• A decision over whether to grant an interview to special counsel Robert Mueller could have major legal implications for President Donald Trump.
• Trump’s lawyers have reportedly advised him not to speak with Mueller, though he has previously said he would.
• Rejecting the interview request could pave the way for Mueller to issue a subpoena — which, in turn, could end up in a lengthy legal battle that could reach the top court.

Trump-Russia: Steve Bannon refuses to testify before House committee

Former White House senior strategist will defy subpoena, citing lack of agreement on scope of questioning, says individual familiar with matter.

The former White House senior strategist Steve Bannon will not testify before the intelligence committee of the US House of Representatives on Tuesday, according to sources – defying a subpoena requiring him to appear.

‘Nunes memo’ published after Trump declassifies controversial document

Trump has allowed the release of the memo, which Democrats say is a crude attempt to undermine Mueller’s Trump-Russia investigation.

Republicans on Friday released a controversial memo that alleges an abuse of power by the FBI in its investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, after Donald Trump declassified the document and accused top officials of bias.

The House intelligence committee chairman, Devin Nunes, published the memo minutes after the president’s approval, despite a warning from the Department of Justice that it would be a “reckless” act. Democrats have portrayed the memo as a crude attempt to undermine the credibility of the Robert Mueller investigation into possible collusion between the Kremlin and members of the Trump campaign.

The four-page memo, released with a letter from the White House, alleges that the FBI omitted key information when it applied for a wiretap on an adviser of Trump’s campaign. The findings “raise concerns with the legitimacy and legality of certain DOJ and FBI interactions” with the court that approves surveillance requests, the memo says. It also claims they “represent a troubling breakdown of legal processes established to protect the American people from abuses”.

Trump attacks the FBI and Justice Department as the war over the memo and Russia investigation heat up

• President Donald Trump attacked the leadership of the FBI and Justice Department on Twitter on Friday morning.
• He said they had “politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats.”
• Trump has been attacking key figures in investigations into whether his campaign colluded with Russia or whether he obstructed justice during the first investigation.

Mueller just got another critical piece of evidence in the Russia investigation

• President Donald Trump reportedly asked Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein whether he was “on my team” during a meeting in December.
• The interaction is the third known instance during which Trump asked a top law-enforcement official where their loyalties lie.
• Rosenstein is increasingly emerging as a crucial witness in the Russia investigation, and experts said the reported interaction is an important new piece of evidence for special counsel Robert Mueller as he examines whether Trump sought to obstruct justice in the Russia probe.

It Appears Yet Another Trump Staffer Is Ready to Sing for Mueller

When we learned at the end of October that two former Trump campaign officials, Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, had been indicted and a third, George Papadopoulos, had cut a plea deal, it was widely interpreted as a signal from Special Counsel Robert Mueller to other potential witnesses.

“Oh man, they couldn’t have sent a message any clearer if they’d rented a revolving neon sign in Times Square,’’ Patrick Cotter, a white-collar defense lawyer, told the Washington Post at the time. “And the message isn’t just about Manafort. It’s a message to the next five guys they talk to. And the message is: ‘We are coming, and we are not playing, and we are not bluffing.’’’

It appears they heard Mueller, loud and clear. About a month later, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI as part of a deal to cooperate with the special counsel. Now the New York Times reports that yet danother former Trump staffer is ready to sing: Mark Corallo, who served as a spokesman for Trump’s legal team before resigning in July.

Trump administration declines to impose new sanctions on Russia hours after the Kremlin accused the US of meddling in its election

• The Trump administration indicated on Monday that it would not seek to impose new sanctions against Russian operatives for the country’s meddling in the 2016 US election.
• President Donald Trump signed into law in August a bill designed to curb billions of dollars in Russian defense sales. The US State Department says the effects of that law are “beginning to become apparent,” and thus new sanctions against the Kremlin “will not need to be imposed.”
• Political observers viewed the move as a sign Trump may be unwilling to punish Russia’s US-election meddling. He has publicly expressed doubt about the activity, instead viewing investigations around the meddling as a domestic attempt to delegitimize his presidency.

Andrew McCabe, FBI deputy director, quits after Trump criticism

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s deputy director, whom US President Donald Trump repeatedly accused of political bias, has resigned.

Andrew McCabe was forced to step down ahead of his official retirement date in March, reports CBS News.

His exit from the top law enforcement agency comes a week after a report that Mr Trump wanted him out.

It was also reported last week that the president had asked Mr McCabe during an Oval Office meeting whom he voted for.

‘Everyone in the White House knows it’d be the end of Trump’s presidency’: 2 GOP senators dismayed Trump reportedly tried to fire special counsel Robert Mueller

• Two GOP senators expressed dismay at reports that the president told the top White House lawyer to order Justice Department officials to fire special counsel Robert Mueller.
• Sen. Lindsay Graham and three Democratic senators introduced legislation last August that would protect special counsels.
• The likelihood that such a bill would become law has seemed remote.

The Mysteries and Tragedy of Russia’s Bottomless Karst Lake (PHOTOS)

The water is serene but deathly cold – and danger lurks beneath its surface. Yet, in the aquatic depths the promise of discovering hidden underwater caves and relics of our past awaits. Here, beauty and allure belie risks – but risks that some are prepared to take.

“A sapphire in a ring of green trees.” That’s how this stunning lake has been described. Even on overcast days, the water has a deep, crystal blue color like the gemstone to which it has been compared.

But there is much more than splendor to this lake. Beneath its smooth surface lie mysteries as yet unsolved. And some of these are secrets that the lake will not easily give up; at least, not if the recent tragic death of one diving explorer and the hospitalization of another are read as telltale signs.

9 Magical Zen Gardens

Zen garden is an interesting and deeply spiritual aspect of Japanese gardening traditions. The typical Zen garden consists of an enclosed and shallow sand box of sorts which features predominantly sand or gravel with rocks of various shapes and sizes.

The rocks and sand (or gravel) are the chief elements of the garden, which generally creates the scene of islands in the sea. The sand or gravel in a Zen garden represents the sea or ocean and is used instead of water. It will be carefully raked by tending monks to create the impression of waves on the surface of a body of water.

The rocks themselves represent islands or rock formations jutting out from the water. The overall goal is to create a small-scale recreation of an aerial or cliff-top view of an intricate coastal scene. One of the primary differences between a Zen garden and most other varieties is the lack of living elements. Although grass may sometimes be included, no other plant or flower species will be found in a classic Zen garden.

This can be both unusual and exotically appealing to people with no past experience with the history and meaning of a Zen garden.

The world’s most extraordinary hotels in pictures

Mihir Garh, Rajasthan 
“The fort sits in splendid isolation amid the Thar Desert near Jodhpur. It looks like an enormous sandcastle, a mirage, and is not just a unique place to stay; it’s a shrine to the artistic and architectural traditions of Rajasthan in general and Jodhpur in particular.”

Planet Baobab, Botswana
“Botswana’s Makgadigadi Pan comprises the world’s largest network of salt pans – a thirsty, mirage-inducing landscape of flat, shimmering expanses under hard blue skies. Halfway along the sole tarred road through this arid moonscape, a statue of an anteater towers at the dusty verge. It is a surreal sight, and an appropriate signpost for the distinctive Planet Baobab.”

Prendiparte B&B, Bologna, Italy
“A medieval high-rise turned romantic hideaway, the Torre Prendiparte is unlike anywhere else you’ll ever stay. The living area is on the first two floors and comprises a snug, classically-furnished living room, mezzanine bedroom, and kitchen. Above this is the former jail where you can still see graffiti left by prisoners on the 2m-thick walls.”

Qasr al Sarab, UAE
“Rising from the shifting sands, Qasr Al Sarab appears like a mirage on the edge of the vast Empty Quarter desert. Outside high crenellated walls echo fortresses of old. Inside rooms continue the dream of Arabian Nights with sumptuous fabrics, carved Islamic designs, woven rugs, wooden doors and metalwork lanterns.”

Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge, Tasmania, Australia
“A stay at Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge plunges you into the heart of Tasmania’s wilderness, with luxury that feels as organic as your surrounds. The cabins are nestled privately in the bushland, with wallabies bounding past the windows and wombats shuffling amid the trees.”

Free Spirit Spheres, British Columbia, Canada
“Suspended in the trees on sturdy guide ropes, Vancouver Island’s Free Spirit Spheres look like giant eyeballs peering deep into the British Columbia woodlands. Step inside and the handmade orbs – accessed via spiral rope staircases or slender steel bridges – are lined like comfy boat cabins with built-in beds and cabinets.”

Taskonak Hotel, Goreme, Cappadocia, Turkey
“Göreme has dozens of beautiful cave-hotels but Taşkonak manages to dish up the cave-suites and stupendous views Cappadocia is famous for without breaking your budget.”

Thonga Beach Lodge, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa
“One of few such lodges within the extraordinary 328,000 hectare iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a Unesco world heritage site.”

Saugerties Lighthouse, New York state, USA
“Saugerties Lighthouse is a historic 1869 landmark that makes a wonderful base for exploring the scenic Hudson valley. It is 100 miles north of New York City, and the red brick building has played a pivotal role in safely guiding steamboats, barges and other vessels safely along the Hudson river over the years. More recently (in the mid 1990s), the lighthouse was transformed into a two-room B&B, providing safe haven of a different sort.”

The Gibbon Experience Treehouse, Bokeo Reserve, Laos
“The tree houses erected by conservation group Animo are a thing of architectural wonder, straddling the giant trunks of strangler fig trees. But more extraordinary still is that to reach these vertiginous eyries you’ll have to trek through the fecund realm of the tiger, then catch a series of exhilarating zip lines strung across the forest canopy, before flying into your night’s accommodation.”

Amazing color pictures from 1960s Budapest

1958

1960

1962

1960

1960

1965

1960

1965

1965:

1965:

1960

1960

1970

1970

National Geographic Photo Contest

 

 

 

 

100 years old pictures in colours before World War I

Türkei, Bursa, Ladengeschaeft einer Confiserie, Auguste Leon, 1. Juni 1913

Vietnam. Tonkin, Leon Busy, 1914

Indien, Statue des Heiligen Stiers, Stephane Passet, 29. Januar 1914

Österreich, Wien, Judengasse, Fotograf unbekannt, 23. April 1913

Mongolei, nahe Ulaanbaatar Urga, Stéphane Passet, 23. Juli 1913

Irland, Galway, Marguerite Mespoulet, 26. Mai 1913

Indien, Uttar Pradesh, Agra. Mausoleum Taj Mahal von Shah Jahan für Mumtaz Mahal, Stéphane Passet, 19.-21. Januar 1914

Indien, Amritsar. Marmorne Strasse zum Goldenden Tempel, neben den rituellen Reinigungsbecken, dem Darbar Sahib und dem Hari Mandir, Stéphane Passet, 15. Januar 1914

China, nach Kalgan. Nomadenlager, drei Männer und ein Junge vor einer Jurte, Stéphane Passet, 18.-21. Juli 1912

Water pipe smoking. Samarkand

Mongolei, Ulaanbaatar. Der Finanzminister des unabhängigen Staats Mongolei auf dem Marktplatz, Stéphane Passet, 22. Juli 1913

Major Lazer & DJ Snake – Lean On (feat. MØ)

Listen To A Rare 1965 Recording Of Stanley Kubrick’s Most Profound Interview

When physicist and renowned author Jeremy Bernstein (born December 31, 1929) penned a terrific piece on 37-year-old burgeoning director Stanley Kubrick for The New Yorker, the story gained so much attention that Bernstein was commissioned to write an even more elaborate profile of the legendary filmmaker. Normally Kubrick would have flat-out refused, however, he agreed due to the fact that he shared a common passion with Bernstein — chess. When Bernstein travelled to Oxford, England for the conversation on November 27, 1965 it was also captured on tape. The interview remains to this day one of the most profound conversations with Kubrick ever recorded, and you can listen to it in full below.

Helios – Hope Valley Hill (Arms and Sleepers Remix)

Keith Kenniff – Helios

Mac DeMarco // “Brother” (OFFICIAL SINGLE)

 

Alan Watts: Sense of Nonsense

November 27, 1965: A Rare Recording of Stanley Kubrick’s Most Revealing Interview

“People react primarily to direct experience and not to abstractions; it is very rare to find anyone who can become emotionally involved with an abstraction.”

George Orwell on how to make the perfect cup of tea

Excerpt from Orwell’s fantastic 1946 essay outlining his 11 “golden” rules of tea /

Harald Grosskopf’s 1979 Masterpiece “Synthesist” Is 7 Minutes Of Pure Amazingness

Yesterday TEEN DAZE released a new mixtape which you can stream and download by visiting ThePlayground.co.uk.  The 8-track collection provides a perfect ambient backdrop for pretty much any situation, but the crown jewel of the mixtape is unquestionably Harald Grosskopf’s brilliant track “Synthesist”.

Shanghai Tower (650 meters)

Raskalov and Russian photographer Vadim Mahora broke into and climbed the Gensler-designed Shanghai Tower, soon to be China’s tallest and the world’s second tallest skyscraper at 632 meters (2,074 feet) high. Although the tower will eventually boast the world’s fastest elevators (reaching 40mph), the pair had to climb the 120 flights of stairs by foot (taking them about two hours); they then spent another 18 hours sleeping and waiting for the weather to clear. The staggering resulting images show not just the dizzying heights, but also fantastic views of the adjacent Jin Mao Tower and Shanghai World Financial Center (together, the trio of buildings that are re-defining the Shanghai skyline).

Adam Magyar – Stainless, 42 Street (excerpt)

High speed video recording in NYC at Grand Central station.

Tolkien & Sendak On The Psychology Of Fantasy & The Powerful Effect Of Fairy Tales On The Adult Mind

In March 1939, renowned fantasy writer J. R. R. Tolkien penned an essay enitled “On Fairy-Stories” which explores the nature of fantasy and the cultural role of fairy tales. His argument is the same — that there is no such thing as “writing for children.” Tolkien writes: “A ‘fairy-story’ is one which touches on or uses Faerie, whatever its own main purpose may be: satire, adventure, morality, fantasy. Faerie itself may perhaps most nearly be translated by Magic — but it is magic of a peculiar mood and power, at the furthest pole from the vulgar devices of the laborious, scientific, magician. There is one proviso : if there is any satire present in the tale, one thing must not be made fun of, the magic itself. That must in that story be taken seriously, neither laughed at nor explained away.”

Tolkien adds: “Creative fantasy, because it is mainly trying to do something else … may open your hoard and let all the locked things fly away like cage-birds.” You can read more excerpts from Tolkien’s essay by visiting BrainPickings.org.

The Aqualibrium Garden – The Future of Food

The Aqualibrium Garden – The Future of Food by “Aqualibrium”

The fish in the self-cleaning aquarium in the bottom chamber of the Aqualibrium Garden provide the nutrients that feed the plants in the self-watering grow space in the upper chamber. This cycle… like nature herself… is automatic, providing the potential to grow an abundance of fresh vegetables, herbs and flowering plants all year.

The Real Walter White (VIDEO)

When AMC’s Breaking Bad premiered in 2008, one of Alabama’s most successful meth cooks was already knee deep in building a massive meth empire. His name? Walter White. In this documentary, Walter tells us the secret behind his product, how he stacked up thousands of dollars per day, and why his partner is now serving two life sentences.

A new industry born from the disaster — LED indoor farm

A new industry born from the disaster — LED indoor farm

Awesome pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope

 

 

 

 

Great Gardens: “Prospect Cottage” by Howard Sooley – NOWNESS

http://vimeo.com/103807651

Great Gardens: “Prospect Cottage” by Howard Sooley – NOWNESS

Speeding Around The World in Under 5 minutes Time Lapse

17 Countries. 343 Days. 6237 Photographs. One incredible journey.

GoPro: Wild Downhill Ride with Claudio Caluori

Claudio Calouri and Will Longden takes us on a wild run through the UCI Downhill Course at Leogang in Austria.

World’s smallest cat – Big Cats

森の木琴

TOUCHWOOD SH-08C http://answer.nttdocomo.co.jp/touchwood/

“TRUMP ANTHEM” — A Bad Lip Reading of Donald Trump

Snow falls in the Sahara desert

The town of Ain Sefra, on the edge of the Sahara desert, was hit by icy weather last week – and even snow.

Snowfall is very rare in the Sahara, despite the fact that it can be cold at night – because there’s rarely enough water around for any kind of precipitation.

Unbelievable Unlikely Animal Friendships Compilation 2017

Winds on this mountain in the US will make it feel like -67C

Temperatures on a mountain peak in the US state of New Hampshire could fall so low you risk getting frostbite in just a couple of minutes.

Micro Wind Turbine

Oxmo Puccino – 365 Jours

The Future Of Transportation

The World in 2050