2016 Chinese Year: Fire Monkey (Feb. 8). Time Person of the Year: Donald Trump (1946-) (Dec. 7). Doomsday Clock: 3 min. to midnight. Speaking of fire monkey, by this year a total of 120M people have contracted HIV since the first diagnosed cases in June 1981? - a single chimp in WC Africa did all this? The global avg. life expectancy increased 5.5 years since 2016, becoming the fastest increase since the 1960s. The U.S. death rate from cancer has fallen 27% since 1991. his is the warmest year on record according to NASA and NOAA, 1.78F warmer than the mid-20th cent. mean, and third straight record year in a row. Number of refugees entering the U.S. this year: 85K incl. 38,901 Muslim and 37,521 Christian (44%) (first time that there are more Muslim than Christian refugees). Of 150,272,172 U.S. tax returns filed for this year, 50,219,667 (33.4) pay $0 or less in income taxes. By this year most name brands are controlled by just 10 multinat. corporations, incl. Coca-Cola, General Mills, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg's, Kraft, Mars, Nestle, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever. Chinese banks incl. ICBC, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of Communications rise to account for 50% of the top banks in the world. The cumulative trade deficit of the U.S. with Mexico between Jan. 1994 and Nov. of this year: $986.5B. Losses to terrorism since 2004 (Euros): EU: 180B, UK: 43.7B, France: 43B, Spain: 40.8B, Germany: 19.2B. China begins reducing direct U.S. investment, from $45.6B this year to $2B in 2018. A famine in Sri Lanka affects crops, causing 900K-1.2M to be in need of food assistance. The U.S. drops 26,171 bombs in seven countries this year, an avg. of 3/hour. There are 556 legally-recognized Native Am. tribes in the U.S., down from 1K+ before the Euro palacefaces first moved in. by Jan. 1 global refugee pop. peaks at 65.3M, becoming the first time over 60M or 10% of world pop. On Jan. 1 (12:01 a.m.) Luis Valenicia Jr. (b. 2016) is born in San Diego. 2 min. after his twin sister Jaelyn Valenicia, becoming the first newborn of 2016 - a prophecy of the Trump-Hillary contest? On Jan. 1 Hawaii becomes the first U.S. state to raise the legal age for smoking to 21. On Jan. 1 (night) Muslims in Copenhagen, Denmark begin setting cars on fire, continuing throughout the year in 100+ cities. On Jan. 1 the 2016 Rose Bowl sees 11-2 Stanford defeat 12-1 Iowa by 45-16; all 64.5K tickets are sold at $150-$186 each. On Jan. 1 Israeli Arab citizen Nashat Milhelm opens fire on cafes and bars on Dizengoff St. in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing two and injuring seven in Sinta Bar then killing Arab taxi driver Amin Shaaban while trying to escape; he is killed on Jan. 8 by police in his hometown of Arara; on Jan. 9 (night) Italian Jewish immigrants and reps of Project Dreyfus in Italy hold a silent demonstration to protest the world holding Israel to a double standard in its handling of Muslim terrorists, with Project Dreyfus pres. Alex Zarfati uttering the soundbyte: "They didn't condemn it, even though it's clear that this is the same kind of terror as the Paris terrorist attacks and the other radical Islamic terrorist attacks that theaten the Western world"; a Quran is found in the gunman's backpack; the work of ISIS? On Jan. 1 Iran becomes a member of the executive board of the U.N. Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (U.N. Women) along with the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, and the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. On Jan. 1 ISIS massacres 300+ West African migrants in Tripoli, Libya before they can be trafficked to Italy. On Jan. 1 certifiable German chancellor Angel Merkel gives a 2016 New Year's Day Speech demanding that Germans not have "coldness in their hearts" but instead embrace the 1.1M+ Muslim arrivals - who all want in their hearts to kill infidels? On Jan. 1 the Calif. Fair Pay Act goes into effect, mandating wage parity for men and women doing "substantially similar" work, with the burden of proof on employers. On Jan. 1 U.S. defense secy. Ash Carter's Dec. deadline for all service chiefs to submit plans to incl. women in all combat positions incl. elite special forces units arrives, and U.S. Navy secy. Ray Mabus sends a memo to the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, scolding him for delays in integrating women, forbidding the use of the word "man" in a job title, requiring at least two women officers per ground combat battalion, causiing U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) (former USMC officer) to call it "ridiculous. This is too critical to rush"; this don't stop Carter from approving final plans on Mar. 11. On Jan. 2 Saudi Arabia executes 47 alleged terrorists, incl. Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, drawing condemnation from the U.S. and EU, pissing-off Iran and causing protesters to set ransack and set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran, after which on Jan. 3 Shoddy, er, Saudi Arabia cuts diplomatic ties with Iran, followed on Jan. 4 by Bahrain, UAE, and Sudan; Donald Trump utters the soundbyte: "One thing I see out there just happened today in Tehran. They're burning down the Saudi embassy, you see that? Now what that is, is Iran wants to take over Saudi Arabia. They already have. They want the oil, okay? They've always wanted that"; Trump also accuses Pres. Obama and Hillary Clinton of creating ISIS. On Jan. 2 (2:00 p.m.) after violations by Houthi militants, the Saudi-led coalition announces the end of the Dec. 15 ceasefire in Yemen. On Jan. 2 Pakistani Jaeish-e-Mohammed terrorists dressed in Indian Army fatigues attack Pathankot Air Force Station in NW India, killing seven security personnel and losing six terrorists in a 17-hour gun battle. On Jan. 4 (Mon.) the Dow Jones Industrial Avg. plunges by 411 points to 17,015. On Jan. 4 reps of major Arab Palestinian orgs. meet in Ramallah, Palestine to discuss how to escalte their Al-Quds Intifada - I'd like to fly like Supeman? On Jan. 4 Egypt resumes diplomatic relations with Israel for the first time since Nov. 2012; meanwhile Egypt's invasion of Sinai to fight ISIS violates their 1979 treaty with Israel, destabilizing relations. On Jan. 4 (first day of trading in 2016) China's domestic A-share stock market declines by 7%, causing transactions to halt and prompting govt. intervention to prop-up stocks, becoming the start of a stock market bubble burst following an unchecked rise until last summer. On Jan. 4 Saudi Arabia carries out a mass execution of 47 people, incl. 43 by beheading and four by firing squad, mainly for speaking out against the regime, becoming their largest mass execution since 1980. On Jan. 4 the U.S. Postal Service introduces a new purple-gold Muslim Eid a-Fitr/Eid al-Adha stamp, along with one celebrating Kwanzaa. On Jan. 5 Pres. Obama gives a tearful speech to a cheering crowd and releases executive orders (his 230th time) expanding mandatory background checks on private gun sales et al., with the soundbyte: "Anybody in the business of selling firearms must get a license and conduct background checks or be subject to criminal prosecutions", pissing-off Repubs., who claim he's exceeding his Constitutional authority by passing his own laws. On Jan. 5 fighting with the Taliban near Marja, Helmand, Afghanistan near the Pakistan border kills one U.S. soldier and injures two. On Jan. 5 Iran unveils a new underground missile base which incl. nuclear warhead-ready Emad precision-guided missiles, which violate a 2010 U.N. Security Council resolution. On Jan. 5 Pope Francis releases his first-ever video message on his monthly prayer intentions, claiming that all faiths are the same and that "we are all children of God". On Jan. 5 Brig. Gen. Diana Holland becomes the 76th commandant of West Point Military Academy, and the first woman. On Jan. 6 (12:30 p.m. local time) North Korea announces that it has conducted a successful H-bomb test, which they call "the H-Bomb of Justice"; the U.S. calls it a dud. On Jan. 6 Christian preacher James McConnell of County Antrim, Ireland is acquitted of "grossly offensive speech" for preaching that Islam is Satanic and a doctrine spawned in Hell, which doesn't stop Irish Muslims for lobbying for Islamic blasphemy laws like in the Muslim World. On Jan. 6 Saudi jets bomb the Iranian embassy in Sana'a, Yemen; meanwhile a car bomb at a police training center in Zliten, Libya kills 65. On Jan. 6 Hurricane Alex starts over NW Cuba, becoming the first hurricane of 2016. On Jan. 7 gunmen fire at security personnel at a hotel in Haram, Giza, Egypt during the annual Coptic celebration of Christmas. On Jan. 7 (11:30 a.m.) an Allah Akbar-shouting Muslim attacks a police station in N Paris with a meat cleaver and fake explosives but being you know what. On Jan. 7 Israel's Shin Bet intel service announces that it foiled a Hamas plan to kidnap and kill Israelis; meanwhile Egypt contacts Israel, requesting them not to normalize ties with Turkey. On Jan. 7 the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security announces that it has deported 77 of 121 illegal immigrants from Central Am. rounded up over the weekend in Tex., Ga., and N.C. On Jan. 8 escaped Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is captured after a shootout in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico after almost 7 mo. after he makes the mistake of trying to contact producers and actresses to make a film bio., holding an interview in the jungle with Sean Penn and Kate del Castillo last Oct. On Jan. 8 Philly police officer Jesse Hartnett (1982-) is shot 11x in his car on the street with a stolen police revolver by Am. Muslim Edward Archer (1985-), who tells police that "he pledges his allegiance to Islamic State, follows Allah, and that is the reason he was called upon to do that", namely, "He believed that the police defend laws that are contrary to the teachings of the Quran", which doesn't stop Philly mayor Jim Kenney from uttering the clueless soundbyte about the shooting: "It's terrible and it does not represent the religion [of Islam] in any way shape or form or any of its teachings". On Jan. 8 al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) releases an audio message by leader Ibraham al-Qusi calling for jihadist attacks against the West incl. France and the U.S. On Jan. 8 Philippine Islamist group Abu Sayaaf releases a video pledging allegiance to ISIS. On Jan. 8 Am. Muslim flight attendant Rose Hamid (1959-) (wearing a t-shirt saying "Salam, I come in peace") is ejected from a Donald Trump rally in Rock Hill, S.C. after standing up to protest Trump's views that Syrian refugees might be ISIS recruits, with the soundbyte: "There is hatred against us that is unbelievable. It's their hatred, it's not our hatred", to which she responds: "I figured that most Trump supporters probably never met a Muslim so I figured that I'd give them the opportunity to meet one... The ugliness really came out fast and that's really scary". On Jan. 9 7K-10K Kurds from across Europe march in Paris, France to protext the killing of three female Kurds there three years earlier, blaming it on Turkey. On Jan. 9 3K anti-Islamization group PEGIDA holds a peaceful rally in Cologne, Germany to protest Syrian immigration and mass sex attacks; other rallies are held in Germany, Austria, Belgium, and France; the upside-down German govt. sends 1.7K police to the Cologne rally, vs. only 150 when the 1K Muslims were rioting, using tear gas and water cannons ] and arresting 15; "Rapefugees not welcome"; "Muhammad not welcome." On Jan. 9 after land-based attacks on the oil terminals of As Sidr and Ras Lanuf on Jan. 4-6, three ISIS boats attack the oil port of Zueitina, Libya, but are repelled. On Jan. 9 massive throngs of 1.4M at the annual Feast of the Black Nazarene in Manila, Philippines kill two and injure hundreds. On Jan. 10 (Sun.) three Muslim men attempt a Paris-style mass shooting at the Ten X Nightclub in Calgary, Ont., Canada, injuring one; the PC press attempts another coverup. On Jan. 10 Afghan peace process talks are held in Islamabad, Pakistan by reps from Pakistan, Afghanistan, the U.S., and China, focusing on the need for talks with the Taliban. On Jan. 10 the U.S. military blows up a bldg. full of ISIS money in Mosul, Iraq. On Jan. 11 (14th anniv. of the arrival of the first Afghanistan War detainees) Saudi-born Mohammad al Rahman al Shumrani is released after being held sans charges and trial; he was admitted on Jan. 16, 2002. On Jan. 11 after a German official meets with Hassan Nasrallah a week earlier in vain, Hezbollah stages an IED attack on the border of Lebanon near Israeli forces in N Israel, causing Russia to ask it to cool it as Israeli shells locations near farms in Shebaa. On Jan. 11 coordinated Taliban suicide attacks in Jalalabad, Afghanistan are foiled by Afghan security forces; meanwhile a secret NATO report is leaked to Der Spiegel, revealing that the Afghan army is incapable of fighting the Taliban, with only 1 of 101 infantry battalions ready for battle, and 38 with "massive problems", incl. 10 with 600 soldiers each "not operational at all". On Jan. 11 (eve.) the 3rd Dem. Pres. Forum at Drake U. in Des Moines, Iowa, aired on Fusion focuses on minority issues. On Jan. 12 an ISIS suicide bomber from Saudi Arabia detonates in a crowd of German tourists in the Sultanahmet District near the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 10 and injuring 15, hurting Turkey's tourist industry, becoming the 4th bombing on Turkish soil since June, and the first targeting all Turks instead of Turkish Kurds; Turkey responds by shelling ISIS positions in Syria and Iraq, killing 200. On Jan. 12 Iran captures two U.S. Navy boats carrying 10 crew after they stray too far into the Persian Gulf en route from Kuwait to Bahrain, and are hauled to Farsi Island; after being accused of spying, they are freed on Jan. 13 after film is taken of them and aired to humiliate the U.S., incl. Lt. David Nartker (1988-) being forced to apologize; the boats really were captured on Dec. 29, and were on a top secret mission to transfer a top-level ISIS cmdr. to Kuwait so that he could travel to Syria to replace Zahran Alloush, who was killed on Dec. 25?; on May 12 squadron cmdr. Eric Rasch is fired. On Jan. 12 Pres. Obama delivers his (last) 2016 State of the Union Speech (watched by 31.3M viewers), ignoring the taking of U.S. Navy hostages by Iran and waxing lyrical about the United States of America, with the soundbytes: "The United States of America is the most powerful nation on Earth, period. It's not even close. We spend more on our military than the next eight nations combined", "Surveys show our standing around the world is higher than when I was elected to this office, and when it comes to every important international issue, people of the world do not look to Beijing or Moscow to lead, they call us", and "Anyone claiming that America's economy is in decline is peddling fiction", dissing Repub. climate deniers with the soundbyte: "Look, if anybody still wants to dispute the science around climate change, have at it. You'll be pretty lonely, because you'll be debating our military, most of America's business leaders, the majority of the American people, almost the entire scientific community, and 200 nations around the world who agree it's a problem and intend to solve it", then strangely admitting that failure to heal the Dem.-Repub. divide is "one of the few regrets of my presidency", heating the divide up himself by slapping at Donald Trump with the Muslim appeasing soundbyte claiming that singling out Muslims "betrayed" America's identity: "When politicians insult Muslims... that doesn't make us safer. It's just wrong. It diminishes us in the eyes of the world. it makes it harder to achieve our goals", dismissing ISIS as "killers and fanatics who have to be rooted out, hunted down, and destroyed", adding: "We don't need to build them up to show that we're serious, nor do we need to push away vital allies in this fight by echoing the lie that ISIL is representative of one of the world's largest religions"; Obama reserves an empty chair for the victims of gun violence; Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) walks out before the speech starts; as Obama begins his last year in office, he has purged U.S. military brass and attempted to fill the ranks with LGBTs and Muslims, you judge a tree by its fruit- and in absolute contradiction to what liar Obama says, the U.S. was only possible because it was free of the Muslim World and Islam, as well as the Roman Catholic world? On Jan. 14 CNN reveals that Ted Cuz failed to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in Wall St. bank loans during his 2012 Senate campaign, incl. $1.43M from Goldman Sachs and $500K from Citibank, causing Donald Trump to claim that this proves that they own him; too bad, his own disclosure form shows him indebted to several Wall St. banks for way bigger bucks. On Jan. 14 (10:30 a.m. local time) ISIS sets off six coordinated explosions in the C business district of Jakarta, Indonesia before unleashing an arsenal of weapons on police, killing 17. On Jan. 14 comedian James "Jimmy" Ernesto Morales Cabrera (1969-) becomes pres. of Guatemala (until ?). On Jan. 14 the Obama admin. quietly transfers 10 Yemeni detainees from Gitmo to Oman, pissing-off Repubs. On Jan. 14 (eve.) the 6th Repub. Pres. Debate in Charleston, N.C., aired by Fox Business Channel is a V for Donald Trump, who edges Ted Cruz by invoking 9/11 to defend Cruz's slamming of Trump's "New York values"; Cruz tries a little too hard to defend his elibility to run for U.S. pres. despite being born in Canada by reminding Trump that his mother was born in Scotland, even though Trump was born in er, New York. On Jan. 15 al-Qaida terrorists attack Splendid Hotel in Ougadougou, Burkina Faso, vowing to "punish cross worshippers", killing 23, incl. 10 in the Cappuccino Cafe, starting a siege that ends with four jihadis killed. On Jan. 15 (dawn) Al-Shabaab militants attack an African Union (AU) base in El-Ade, Somalia, killing ? and injuring ?. On Jan. 15 the Obama admin. imposes a moratorium on new coal development on federal land. On Jan. 15 Canada's supreme court allows physician-assisted suicide. On Jan. 15 Pope Francis meets in a closed door meeting with top Google exec Eric Schmidt, giving conspiracy theorists ammo. On Jan. 16 oil prices fall below $30 ($29.42) a barrel for the first time since 2003, helping er, fuel a U.S. and Chinese stock market slide. On Jan. 16 Tsai Ing-wen (1956-) of the Beijing-skeptical LGBT-friendly Dem. Progressive Party (DPP) wins pres. elections in Taiwan with 56% of the vote, becoming their first female pres. on May 20 (until ?). On Jan. 16 Pres. Obama pardons three Iranian-Ams. charged with violating sanctions against Iran, and prosecutors drop charges against four Iranians outside the U.S., while Iran frees five Americans incl. a Washington Post reporter and Christian minister Saeed Abedini in anticipation of the announcement of the end of internat. sanctions on Iran, with Pres. Obama saying that it "marks a fundamental shift in circumstances with respect to Iran's nuclear program"; meanwhile the U.S. imposes sanctions against those involved in Iran's ballistic missile program that test-fired a medium-range missle.; in Aug. it is revealed that the U.S. secretly paid Iran a $400M cash ransom, and that the payment had to be made for the prisoners to be released. On Jan. 17 the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq confirms that "several" Americans have gone missing. On Jan. 17 (eve.) the 4th 2016 Dem. Pres. Debate in Charleston, S.C., aired on NBC News, hosted by Lester Holt and Andrea Mitchell and sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus sees Hillary Clinton portray herself as Pres. Obama's heir, and Bernie Sanders call for a "political revolution" to break the power of the big corporations, becoming a V for Sanders after Hillary "did nothing in the debate to slow the momentum that Sanders is building in Iowa and New Hampshire" (Chris Cillizza, Washington Post). On Jan. 18 after a wave of 600+ attacks, Pres. Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia signs a new law that closes a loophole allowing acid attackers of women to go scot-free, with a min. sentence of 12 years, and 50 if the victim is permanently disfigured. On Jan. 18 the Iraqi govt. announces thei killing of ISIS 2nd deputy Assi Ali Mohammed Nasser al-Obeidi in an air strike in Barwana (E of Haditha), Iraq. On Jan. 18 the British Parliament debates a petition signed by 500K to ban Donald Trump from entering the country, but doesn't go through with it for fear of turning him into a martyr (losing Trump's planned $1B investment there?); meanwhile Moral Majority leader Jerry Falwell Jr. endorses Trump at a campaign speech at Liberty U. in Lynchburg, Va., where he vows to "protect Christianity", giving him a boost with evangelicals. On Jan. 18 the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland announces that robots and AI will cause a net loss of 5.1M jobs in 15 leading countries by 2020, 7.1M minus 2M. On Jan. 18 Libyan former intel official Ahmad Qadhaf Al-Dam gives an interview to Egyptian Dream TV Network, claiming that ISIS and other Islamist terrorist groups have gotten hold of the chemical weapons left by dead duck dictator Muammar Qaddafi. On Jan. 18 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) announces their 20 nominations for 2015, who are all-white for the 2nd straight year, causing dir. Spike Lee to speak out against the "lack of diversity" and call for radical changes, getting support from Chris Rock et al.; others incl. Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith support the #OscarsSoWhite boycott; on Jan. 22 AMPAS holds a special meeting and announces radical changes to increase the diversity of its membership, with the goal of doubling female and black members by 2020; on Feb. 11 Hollywood bigwig Steven Spielberg utters the soundbyte that there's no "inherent or dormant racism" in AMPAS. On Jan. 19 Chinese pres. Xi Jinping visits Saudi Arabia for two days, meeting with King Salman to discuss trade and other ties, after which he continues to Egypt and Iran (until Jan. 23). On Jan. 19 the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq announces that the Iraq War has killed 18.8K and injured 36.2K civilians since the start of 2014, internally displacing 3.2M. On Jan. 19 Sarah Palin endorses Donald Trump for pres. in a speech at Iowa State U. in Ames, with the soundbyte: "Are you ready to make America great again?"; "No more pussyfooting around. Our troops deserve the best, you deserve the best"; "You ready for a commander in chief who will let our warriors do their job and kick ISIS' ass?" On Jan. 19 NBC News announces that Hillary Clinton's home server contained intel classified beyond top secret, causing he to increase her blanket denials of wrongdoing. On Jan. 19 the British govt. announces that it sold Saudi Arabia more than £1B worth of weapons to fight Yemen in July-Sept. 2015. On Jan. 20 (5:30 a.m. EDT) there is a planetary alignment of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn as seen from Earth, continuing until Feb. 20, becoming the first in 10 years. On Jan. 20 Taliban militants storm the campus of Bacha Khan U. in Peshawar, Pakistan, killing 30+, mainly students. On Jan. 20 the Pentagon announces that satellite photos confirm that ISIS has destroyed the 1,400-y.o. St. Elijah's Monastery in Mosul, Iraq, the country's oldest, with U.S. Col Steve Warren calling it "a battle of savagery against decency". On Jan. 20 Venezuela is reelected to a 3-year term on the U.N. Human Rights Council despite its Socialist govt. ruining the economy, with 700% inflation causing a dozen eggs to sell for $150. On Jan. 21 U.S. secy. of state John Kerry utters the soundbyte that "the fight's ove" between the Israeli and U.S. govt. over the Iranian nuke deal. On Jan. 21 the govt. of Germany admits that it can't account for 600K of its 1.1M Muslim so-called refugees. On Jan. 21 (night) conservative journal Nat. Review pub. a Special Issue on Donald Trump, with essays by 22 conservative thinkers incl. Glenn Beck, Brent Bozell, Thomas Sowell, Cal Thomas, Edwin Meese, Michael Mukasey, Andrew c. McCarthy et al., who call him "a menace to American conservatism who would take the work of generations and trample it underfoot in behalf of a populism as heedless and crude as The Donald himself"; Trump responds that the Nat. Review is a "dying paper". On Jan. 22 the Committee to Protect Journalists reports that journalists Hamdi al-Bokari (Al-Jeezera) and Abdul Aziz al-Sabri (Al-Masdar) and their driver Munair al-Suabaie have been abducted on Jan. 18 (10:00 p.m.) in Taiz, Yemen. On Jan. 22 Chinese pres. Xi Jinping announces support for a Palestinian state with E Jerusalem as its capital, based on the pre-1967 borders. On Jan. 23 Donald Trump is endorsed by the Nat. Black Repub. Assoc., and utters the soundbyte that he's so impervious to his rivals that he could stand on New York City's Fifth Ave. "and shoot somebody" and still not lose voters. On Jan. 25 four Boko Haram suicide bombers at the central market in Bodo, Cameroon kill 25 and injure 65. On Jan. 25 (eve.) the 4th Dem. Pres. Forum at Drake U. in Des Mones, Iowa, moderated by Chris Cuomo of CNN sees Hillary Clinton square-off against frontrunner Bernie Sanders, with also-ran Martin O'Malley tagging along; Hillary utters the soundbyte that her email setup wasn't "an error in judgment" because "nothing that I did was wrong". On Jan. 25-27 several hundred Muslim religious leaders and 50 non-Muslim observers meet in Marakesh, Morocco to discuss and promote the Marrakesh Declaration on the Rights of Religious Minorities in Predominantly Muslim Majority Countries. On Jan. 26 Al Gore's Global Warning Doomsday arrives when greenhouse gases cause the Earth to go into runaway heat death. :) On Jan. 26 100+ separate strikes are held in France over pay and other issues, incl. taxi drivers and air traffic controllers. On Jan. 26 by 68-42 the legislature of S.C. passes a bill "to prevent a court or other enforcement authority from enforcing foreign law including, but not limited to, Sharia Law". On Jan. 26 (eve.) after they refuse to dump host Megyn Kelly and hire anti-Trump Muslim spokesman Nabela Noor, Donald Trump announces that he won't participate in the Fox News debate set for Jan. 27, with the soundbytes: "What's wrong over there, something's wrong", and "They can't toy with me like they toy with everybody else. Now let's see how many people watch", causing Fox News to respond that Trump'a campaign mgr. Corey Lewandoski made "threats" and "terrorizations", but then turns around and says that Trump is still welcome; meanwhile Ted Cruz offers to debate him one-on-one; meanwhile on Jan. 26 Megyn Kelly hosts leftist filmmaker Michael Moore, who utters the soundbyte; "You asked a great question, by the way. The war on women. God bless you, Megyn Kelly"; Kelly utters the soundbyte: that she "made him run, shut him down." On Jan. 27 (Internat. Holocaust Remembrance Day) France and Italy host Iranian pres. Hassan Rouhani, pissing-off Jewish leaders, who call it "hypocrisy". On Jan. 27 the Guardian of London pub. an article citing a U.N. panel's findings of "widespread and systematic" attacks on civilians by Saudi air strikes in Yemen. On Jan. 27 the World Health Org. (ORG) announces that the Zika virus from Africa is spreading rapidly in Latin Am. and has "explosive pandemic potential" because it's spread by mosquitoes, and "You don't need to travel to get the disease", with up to 4M cases possible. On Jan. 27 Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Greek PM Alexis Tsipras sign a 3-way alliance with Cyprus. On Jan. 28 Iranian pres. Hasan Rouhani visits Paris, France, where he is greeted by a group of protesters (Femen et al.) carrying a banner reading "Welcome Rouhani, executioner of freedom". On Jan. 28 Toast Ale is founded in London, England by Tristram Stuart to produce beer from surplus bread, donating profits to charity. On Jan. 28 (eve.) the 8th 2016 Repub. Pres. Debate on Fox News, snubbed by Donald Trump gets 12.5M viewers; meanwhile Trump holds a rally for veterans across town 2 mi. away, claiming to raise $6M; opponents Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee attend. On Jan. 29 the U.S. Special Inspector Gen. for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGFAR) releases a report that claims that Afghanistan is "even more dangerous than it was a year ago." On Jan. 29 indirect talks between the Syrian govt. and opposition begin in Geneva, Switzerland. On Jan. 29 French foreign minister Laurent Fabius announces that France will recognize a Palestinian state if its efforts in the coming weeks to break the deadlock between Israelis and Palestinians fil, causing Israel to reply that it will reject any initiative to restart peace negotiations, accusing France of encouraging Palestinian intransigence. On Jan. 29 the U.S. State Dept. announces that it is withholding 22 emails from Hillary Clinton's email account for containing "top secret" material, plus another 18 she exchanged with Pres. Obama, calling them protected communications - smell the aroma of the indictments? On Jan. 29 the U.S. nat. debt hits $19T for the fist time ever; it was $18T 13 mo. earlier on Dec. 15, 2014. On Jan. 30 after her support slips bigtime, German chancellor Angela Merkel announces that most refugees from Syria and Iraq will have to return there once the conflicts there have ended. On Jan. 30 ISIS attacks Deir Ezzor, Syria, kidnapping 400+ civilians incl. women and children, all Sunni Muslims. On Jan. 30 (night) Islamist Boko Haram maniacs attack a village and two camps housing 25K refugees in Dalori, Nigeria (3 mi. from Maiduguri), burning children alive and killing 100+. In Jan. Hollyweird celebs Jane Fonda, Rosie O'Donnell et al. found Dump Trump, dissing Trump for "inciting hatred against Muslims, immigrants, women, the disabled", "unleasing a lynch mob mentality", and "bullying and fear-mongerng", with the soundbyte: "We pledge ourselves to speak out in every way possible against the politics of hate and exclusion he represents" - the Muslims already beat Trump to it? In Jan. Ben and Jerry's creates Bernie's Yearning ice cream, mint topped by a big disk of chocolate, uttering the soundbyte that Hillary Clinton is not a true progressive. On Jan. 31 after street protests and armed insurgency, the African Union (AU) votes to dismiss a proposal by U.N. secy.-gen. Ban Ki-moon, U.N. ambassador Samantha Power, the EU et al. to deploy troops to Burundi to prevent possible genocide and prepare for a transitional govt. after the ouster of 3-term (since 2005) pres. Pierre Nkurunziza. In Jan. despite winter weather, 91,671 Muslim migrants enter Germany. In Jan. Pope Francis appoints Barbara Jatta as the first female dir. of the Vatican Museums (until ?). In Jan. Ayahuasca Healings opens the first legal Ayahuasca retreat in the U.S. in Wash. 90 mi. N of Seattle-Tacoma Airport. On Feb. 1 Alphabet Inc. (Google) passes Apple as the most valuable co. in the wold ($568B vs. $535B). On Feb. 1 U.N. secy.-gen. Ban Ki-moon pub. the op-ed. Don't Shoot the Messenger in the New York Times, scolding Israel for criticizing his earlier comments about the justness of the Palestinian cause while condemning "Palestinians targeting Israeli civilians", containing the soundbyte: "As oppressed peoples have demonstrated throughout the ages, it is human nature to react to occupation, which often serves as a potent incubator of hate and extremism", adding that "History proves that people will always resist occupation". On Feb. 1 U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland disses Ted Cruz for repeatedly promising to "carpet bomb" ISIS, with the soundbyte: "Indiscriminate bombing where we don't care if we are killing innocents or combatants is just inconsistent with our values.... At the end of the day, it doesn't matter only if you win, it matters how you win." On Feb. 1 four members of Hezbollah are arrested in France for running an internat. drug network to fund the org.'s military activity in Syria. On Feb. 1 (Mon.) after Donald Trump disses Canadian-born Ted Cruz as an "anchor baby" who's ineligible to be pres., then steps on his own trunk by saying that as president he'll work with Dems., the 2016 Iowa Primary is a push for Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, with Hillary edging him out by a fraction of 1 point; Ted Cruz (28%) wins the Repub. race (first Latino to win a primary), with Donald Trump (24%) coming in er, #2, and Marco Rubio (23%) 3rd; Hillary claims a V before the vote is counted, relieving a meltdown as the primary approached?; Chris Christie comes in 10th, and says that Rubio is "the boy in the bubble"; Martin O'Malley, Mike Huckabee, and Rand Paul soon drop out of the pres. race; on Feb. Trump accuses Cruz of voter fraud for misleading voters that Ben Carson is dropping out. calling for a new election. On Feb. 1 a Panels Politics Poll taken in Tel Aviv finds that 63% of Israelis rank Pres. Obama the worst for Israel in the last 30 years, with Jimmy Carter coming in #2 at 16%. On Feb. 1 Norwegian army chief Gen. Odin Johannessen gives a speech to the Oslo Military Society, warning that Euro countries can no longer count on preserving their values without being ready and willing to fight radical Islam, with the soundbyte: "I think we must be ready to fight, both with words, actions, and if necessary weapons to preserve the country and the values we have in common." On Feb. 2 (eve.) the U.S. House of Representatives votes to reaffirm "In God We Trust" as the U.S. motto, causing Pres. Obama on Feb. 3 to utter the soundbyte: "I trust in God, but God wants to see us help ourselves by putting people back to work." On Feb. 2-Apr. 5 the FX series The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story debuts, based on the 1997 Jeffrey Toobin book "The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson", starring Cuba Gooding Jr. as O.J., Kenneth Choi as Judge Lance Ito, Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark, John Travolta as Robert Shapiro, and Courtney B. Vance as Johnnie Cochran. On Feb. 3 the Syrian army backed by Russian air cover captues Nubl and Al-Zahra, Syria in NW Aleppo Province, breaking a 40-mo. siege and causing Syrian peace talks to be suspended. On Feb. 3 former Dem. pres. Jimmy Carter visits the British Parliament, uttering the soundbyte that he's rather have Donald Trump win the White House than Ted Cruz, because "Trump has proven already that he's completely malleable. I don't think he has any fixed opinions that he would really go to the White House and fight for", giving Cruz some campaign fodder to use against Trump. On Feb. 3 lame duck supposedly Christian Pres. Obama visits the Islamic Society of Baltimore, Md., becoming the first U.S. pres. to visit a U.S. mosque, spewing 20 lies about Islam, starting with "We're all one family", "Muslim Americans keep us safe", "An attack on one religion is an attack on all religions", Muslims (like the ones in Nigeria who recently burned children alive?) aren't to blame for Islamic terrorism, and "For more than a thousand years people have been drawn to Islam's message of peace" (on their unconditional surrender terms), lying about the Am. Founding Fathers to make them seem pro-Muslim, incl. how John Adams and Thomas Jefferson kept copies of the Quran, when actually they read them to learn how best to fight two wars against them, with Jefferson writing the soundbyte: "Thou wilt wonder that such absurdities have infected the best part of the world and wilt avouch that the knowledge of what is contained in this book will render that [Islamic Sharia] law contemptible", then playing both ends with the soundbyte: "By the way, Thomas Jefferson's opponents tried to stir things up by suggesting he was a Muslim", not refraining from the past lie that Muslims have always been part of the U.S., telling Hollyweird to feature more Muslims chars. "that are unrelated to national security"; of course he paints Am. Muslims as victims of hate and discrimination, never mind that the mosque he chose has deep extremist ties, that Muslims are virulently anti-Semitic, and that the Muslim World regards him as a Muslim because he was born one?; his constant praising of Islam isn't what a Christian would do, only a Muslim?; real Christian, Am. evangelist Franklin Graham utters the soundbyte: "The foundations of this nation have nothing to do with Islam"; meanwhile on Feb. 2 new House Speaker (since Oct. 29) Paul Ryan meets with Pres. Obama for the first time, questioning him about his admin.'s losening of visa waiver restrictions imposed by Congress in response to the threat of Islamist jihadists traveling to the U.S. in order to appease Iran. On Feb. 3 Hillary Clinton speaks at a Dem. primary town hall in Derry, N.H. sponsored by CNN, ducking a question by Anderson Cooper whether being paid $675K by Goldman Sachs for three speeches was excessive, asking voters to "name one thing" on which Wall Street money has influenced her, with the soundbyte: "I'm out here every day saying I'm going to shut them down, I'm going after them, I'm going to jail them if they should be jailed, I'm going to break them up. I mean they're not giving me very much money now, I can tell you that much. Fine with me, I'm proud to have 90 percent of my donations from small donors"; meanwhile her Super PAC collected $15M of $25M raised in the 2nd half of 2015 from Wall Street, nearly half from insidious billionaire mystery man George Soros. On Feb. 3 the Catholic Bishop's Conference of Ghana announces that they're pissed-off at the Obama admin. decision to transfer prisoners from Gitmo there, calling them "time bombs" and calling for them to be sent back. On Feb. 4 Nat. Border Patrol Council pres. Brandon Judd testifies before Congress, telling them that the Obama admin. has revised the Bush admin. catch-and-release police for illegal immigrants. On Feb. 4 the 2016 Nat. Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. features a speech by supposedly Christian Pres. Obama, who reverses 1,400 years of history by claiming that Christians don't need to fight their worse enemy Islam, making it about us rather than them, with the soundbyte: "Fear does funny things. Fear can lead us to lash out against those who are different, or lead us to try to get some sinister other under control", adding that "a good cure for fear" is Jesus. On Feb. 4 the European Parliament passes a resolution designating atrocities committed by ISIS against Christians, Yazidis, and other religious minorities as genocide. On Feb. 4 Brazil inaugurates a new Palestinian embassy in Rio de Janeiro; meanwhile it rejects Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's nomination for the vacant Israeli envoy position. On Feb. 4 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announce that gay men make up 67% of all new HIV diagnoses, even though they are 2% of the U.S. pop. - they suck? On Feb. 4 the 5th 2016 Dem. Pres. Debate in Durham, N.H. sees Hillary Clinton demand that Bernie Sanders explain his "artful smears" about receiving campaign donations from Wall Street, with Sanders answering that there is an inherit "quid-pro-quo"; on Feb. 8 Hillary speaks at a community college in Manchester, N.H., uttering the soundbyte that Sanders accepted $200K from the main Senate fundraising arm of the Dem. Party, which receives money from Wall Street, and that she doesn't accuse him of letting that influence his opinions, so he should do ditto. On Feb. 5 Bernie Sanders speaks at the Politics and Eggs event in Manchester, N.H., uttering the soundbyte that he's not "Santa Claus", who wants to provide "a bunch of free stuff" for everyone. On Feb. 6 a 6.4 earthquake in Taiwan. On Feb. 6 former U.S. secy. of state Madeleine Albright speaks at a Hillary Clinton rally in Concord, N.H., uttering the soundbyte; that there's a special place in Hell for women who don't help other women, refusing to apolotize; meanwhile feminist pioneer Gloria Steinem utters the soundbyte that young women are flocking to Bernie Sanders only because "the boys are with Bernie", pissing-off Bernie supporters, causing her to womansplain er, apologize. On Feb. 6 (night) the First 2016 Repub. Primary Debate on ABC-TV draws 13.2M viewers (best night for ABC in 14 years), beating Fox News (12.5M) because of the reappearance of frontrunner Donald Trump; Marco Rubio stinks himself up by repeating the same soundbye about Pres. Obama knowing exactly what he's doing by trying to permanently change the U.S. into just another country despite Chris Christie calling him out for being a parrot repeating memorized soundbytes. On Feb. 7 Super Bowl 50 (not L) (Golden Anniv.) at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. sees the 12-4 Denver Broncos (AFC) (8th SB appearance) (coach Gary Kubiak) defeat the 15-1 Carolina Panthers (NFC) (coach Ron Rivera) (first SB with former SB players as head coaches) (3rd straight season played by #1 seeds) by 24-10 after a super boa-constrictor-like performance by the 2000's Orange Crush defense (#1 in the NFL), led by linebacker (#58) Vonnie B'Vsean "Von" Miller (1989-), who sack 6'5" 245 lb. Panthers QB (#1) (since 2011) Cameron Jerrell "Cam" Newton (1989-) (NFL MVP) 7x after he came into the game calling himself Superman and got so much Kryptonite and was knocked on his cam so many times that he turned back into Clark Kent (a classic Greek tragedy?), walking out of the post-game interview and later admitting that he's a "sore loser"; Miller was drafted #2 in the 2011 NFL draft after #1 Newton; Broncos WR (#11) Jordan Shea Rashad Norwood (1986-) sets a SB record for longest punt return (61 yards); Broncos 6'5" 230 lb. QB (#18) (since 2012) Peyton Williams "the Sheriff" Manning (1976-) (known for frequently shouting "Omaha" before snaps) wins his 2nd SB (XLI) (first QB to win with two different teams) (oldest QB to play in a SB after John Elway of the Broncos) (largest age difference between opposing SB QBs at 13 years, 48 days), and sets a record for winning 200 games; Miller is named SB MVP, going on to sign a record $114M contract with the Broncos with a $70M guarantee on July 15, 2016, making him the highest paid defensive player in NFL history; a 30 sec. commercial costs $5M; the nat. anthem is sung by Lady Gage; the halftime show features Coldplay, Beyonce, and Bruno Mars w/Mark Ronson; Beyonce's performance of her new single "Formation" pays tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement, and apparently pays tribute to the Black Panthers; Manning gives a free plug to Budweiser brand beer in his victory speech; Manning retires on Mar. 6 after earning a record $250M plus endorsements. On Feb. 7 former U.S. DHS agent Jerry Holbrook blows the whistle on the Obama admin. for ordering the destruction of classified documents linking radical Islamists to terrorist orgs. On Feb. 7 (a.m.) North Korea launches a half-ton payload ICBM with a range of 8K mi., supposedly to put a satellite into orbit, pissing-off the U.S. On Feb. 7 (Sun.) Donald Trump gives an interview to George Stephanopoulos on ABC-TV's "This Week", repeating his call for the waterboarding of terrorists, with the soundbyte: "I would approve waterboarding, and if you go beyond it, I'm okay with that." On Feb. 8 Russian pres. Vladimir Putin meets with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain in Moscow to discuss trade cooperation. On Feb. 8 al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) seizes the last of four towns in S Yemen after taking Houta, capital of Lahj Province on Jan. 26, incl. Azzan on Feb. 1, Mahfid on Feb. 4, and Shoqra and Ahwar on Feb. 8. On Feb. 8 the Internat. Civil Aviation Org. (ICAO) proposes draft rules for greenhouse gas emissions for most commercial and business aircraft, requiring minimal changes to aviation design until 2028. On Feb. 8 Pres. Obama signs Internat. Megan's Law to Prevent Child Exploitation and Other Sexual Crimes Through Advanced Notification of Traveling Sex Offenders, requiring the notification of foreign govts. when a U.S. citizen registered as a sex offender involving a minor is about to travel to their country. On Feb. 8 a supporter at a Donald Trump rally calls Ted Cruz a "pussy", giving Trump a green light to repeat the word over and over in mock disapproval, pissing-off low energy opponent Jeb Bush, who utters the soundbyte: "I think how you lead your life as a president is as important as the five-point plan you have to deal with whatever subject it is, and restoring decency back to the public life." On Feb. 8 the late-night TV talk-satire show Full Frontal with Samantha Bee debuts on TBS-TV (until ?), starring Canadian-Am. comedian Samantha Bee (1969-) (Jon Stewart Show graduate), going on to delight in lampooning Donald Trump. On Feb. 9 the 2016 N.H. Pres. Primary sees a record Repub. voter turnout with 263K, vs. 231K Dems, with 15% first-timers, most voting for Trump or Sanders; Donald Trump wins the Repub. vote with 35%, vs. 16% for John Kasich, 12% for Ted Cruz, 11% for Jeb Bush, 11% for Marco Rubio, and 7% for Chris Christie; Bernie Sanders wins the Dem. vote with 60%, vs. 38% for Hillary Clinton. On Feb. 9 Donald Trump gives an interview to MSNBC, uttering the soundbyte that the U.S.-Mexico Border Wall will cost "probably $8 billion, which is a tiny fraction of the money that we lose with Mexico"; adding: "So it's $8 billion, and what we're doing is we have 2,000 miles, right? 2,000 miles. It's long, but it's not 13,000 miles like they have in China. And of the 2,000, we don't need 2,000, we need a thousand because of natural barriers, etcetera, etcetera, and I'm taking a price per square foot and a price per square mile, and it's a very simple calculation", adding it will have "big, beautiful doors to allow people to come into the country"; after Trump keeps emphasizing that Mexico will pay for it, former Mexican pres. Vicente Fox tells CNBC that the Mexican people won't pay a single cent for Trump's "fucking wall"", calling him "ignorant... crazy... egocentric... nasty... false prophet", causing Trump to utter the soundbyte: "I heard he said that we will not pay. Guess what? The wall just got higher"; on May 5 after Trump clears the road to the Repub. nomation, Vicente Fox apologizes, inviting Trump to come to Mexico to see the border from their side. On Feb. 9 Iranian pres. advisor Fahimeh Farahmanpour tells the Islamic Society of North Am. (ISNA) that there is widespread disqualification of women running for parliament (12K), esp. outside the main cities, usually under Article 28 Paragraph 1, lack of practical commitment to Islam; only 1,234 are left, up from 458 in the last election. On Feb. 9 a new U.S. federal commission to enhance U.S. cybersecurity is created to develop recommendations for protecting govt. and private sector data from hackers; on Feb. 17 Pres. Obama appoints former nat. security adviser Tom Donilon as chmn., and former IBM CEO Sam Palmisano as vice-chmn. On Feb. 9 (night) the first Roman Catholic Church service is held in Henry VIII's Hampton Court Palace since the reign of his daughter Queen Mary in 1553-8. On Feb. 10 Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina drop out of the Repub. pres. race. On Feb. 10 (Ash Wed.) Pope Francis dispatches an army of 1K super-confessor priests called the Missionaries of Mercy around the world to forgive sins during the Vatican's Jubilee Year, which ends in Nov. On Feb. 11 Fox News reveals that a battalion of 500 U.S. Army infantrymen are being sent to the Helmand Province of S Afghanistan to fight the Taliban, becoming the first since the late 2014 pullout. On Feb. 11 (6:00 p.m. EST) machete-wielding Am. Muslim Guinea immigrant Mohammed Barry (1986-) attacks the Israeli-owned Nazareth Restaurant and Deli in Columbus, Ohio, injuring four before being killed by police. On Feb. 11 (8:00 p.m. CST) the 6th 2016 Dem. Pres. Debate at the U. of Wisc. in Milwaukee, Wisc., aired on PBS and CNN and anchored by Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill sees Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton square off on several issues incl. Henry Kissinger and Pres. Obama; after Hillary claims that she is better able to form the kind of coalition needed to advance the Dem. agenda incl. tax increases and racial, ethnic, or sexual equality, Sanders utters the soundbyte: "You're not in the White House yet", dissing her for insulting voters' intelligence by claiming that she's not affected by the millions of dollars going to PACs. On Feb. 12 (Abe Lincoln's birthday) Pres. Obama designates three new nat. monuments in Southern Calif. totaling 1.8M acres, incl. Mojave Trails Nat. Monument and Castle Mountains Nat. Monument in the Mojave Desert, and Sand to Snow Nat. Monument in the Sonoran Desert. On Feb. 12 Pope Francis meets with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill in Cuba, becoming the first meeting between the leaders of the two churches since their split in 1066, er, 1054, with Pope Francis telling him "We are brothers". On Feb. 12 the Quartet meets in Munich, Germany to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian problem, expressing "serious concern" that "continued acts of violence against civilians, ongoing settlement activity, and the high rate of demolitions of Palestinian structures" are "dangerously imperiling the viability of a two-state solution"; King Abdullah of Jordan gives a speech, calling the Israeli-Palestine stalemate "a festering wound" that is "exploited" by ISIS. On Feb. 13 Pope Francis visits Mexico City, Mexico, giving a speech to his bishops denouncing the "insidious threat" of the drug lords. On Feb. 13 Pakistani pres. Mamnoon Hussain utters the soundbyte: "Valentine's Day is part of the Western culture. There is no room for it to be celebrated in Islam and Pakistani culture." On Feb. 13 (eve.) the 9th Repub. Pres. Debate in Greenville, S.C., aired by CBS News and hosted by John Dickerson sees Donald Trump task Jeb Bush for his brother's mistakes with al-Qaida, with Jeb uttering the soundbyte: "My brother helped keep America safe", and Trump countering with the soundbyte: "The World Trade Center came down during your brother's reign." On Feb. 12/13 (night) Antonin Scalia (b. 1936), conservative pillar of the U.S. Supreme Court unexpectedly dies of a heart attack on a hunting trip in Tex., throwing conservatives into a panic and changing the stakes of the pres. election; he dies after attending a meeting of the secret Internat. Order of St. Hubertus linked to the all-male Bohemian Grove?; his death is a leftist conspiracy? On Feb. 14 the world ends, according to an alien at a Holiday Inn in Paramus, N.J. - 1989 film Ghostbusters II. On Feb. 14 Hillary Clinton comforts a crying 10-y.-o. illegal immigrant "DREAMer" in Las Vegas, Nev. who says that she's scared her parents are going to be deported, telling her "Let me do all the worrying." On Feb. 15 Pres. Obama opens the ASEAN Summit. On Feb. 15 the Obama admin. misses a deadline to deliver a strategy for fighting ISIS and al-Qaida to Congress. On Feb. 15 an airstrike on a hospital in N Syria kills 9+, causing Russia to deny on Feb. 16 that it was their fault. On Feb. 15 Hillary Clinton speaks at a rally in Nev., entertaining all by barking like a dog to signal that a lie has just been told. On Feb. 15-16 Pres. Obama holds a summit with 10 Asian nations in Rancho Mirage, Calif. On Feb. 16 Belgian police arrest 10 membes of an ISIS terror cell in Belgium incl. Molenbeek. On Feb. 16 the U.S. govt. approves the first U.S. factory in Cuba in 50 years, a 2-man business that will assemble 1K small tractors a year using Cuban workers. On Feb. 16 Pres. Obama disses the entire GOP pres. candidate field, singling out Donald Trump and publicly hoping that he won't become pres., with the soundbyte: "He may up the ante in anti-Muslim sentiment, buf if you look at what the other Republicans have said, that's pretty troubling too", going after Marco Rubio for abandoning his immigration bill, and blasting them all for denying climate change; Trump responds "He's done such a lousy job as president." On Feb. 17 Pope Francis visits the U.S.-Mexico border town of Juarez, Mexico, dissing U.S. immigration policy, capitalism, etc., walking up a ramp covered with flowers towards a cross "erected... in memory of migrants who have perished trying to reach the United States just a stone's throw away", uttering the soundbyte: "The flow of capital cannot decide the flow of people"; on Feb. 18 Pope Francis disses Donald Trump, uttering the soundbyte "A person who thinks only about building walls, whatever they may be, and not of building bridges is not Christian", causing Trump to respond that it's "disgraceful" to question a person's religion (except when he does it?), and that when ISIS comes for him he will wish that he was U.S. pres.; meanwhile since 846 the Vatican has been surrounded by high walls to keep out Muslims. On Feb. 17 Hollyweird actress Susan Sarandon tweets that it is "insulting" to think that women should vote for Hillary Clinton just because of her gender, expressing her support for Bernie Sanders with the soundbyte "I don't vote with my vagina." On Feb. 18 the Munich Agreement by members of the Internat. Syria Support Group (ISSG) promises to end hostilities and deliver aid. On Feb. 18 the Dinka Sudan People's Liberation Army attacks the U.N.-run camp in Malakal, South Sudan, killing 25 Nuers. On Feb. 19 the U.S. stages an air strike on an ISIL training camp near Sabraha, Libya, calling it necessary for nat. security. On Feb. 19 Saudi Arabia cuts off payment on $4B in military aid to Lebanon for failing to condemn attacks on its embassies in Iran. On Feb. 19 Donald Trump calls for a boycott of Apple Inc. until it unlocks the iPhone 6 of one of the San Bernardino jihadists, Syed Rizwan; Apple stands its ground on privacy principles; Libertarian Party pres. candidate John McAfee pub. an op-ed. supporting Apple, and offers to decrypt the phone for free so they don't have to put a back door into their products. On Feb. 20 the 2016 Nev. Dem. Caucus is a V for Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders by 52%-47%; she actually only got 6,316 votes after spending millions of dollars, going from 40 points to 25 points 30 days earlier to 5 points ahead of Bernie at the end; the 2016 S.C. Repub. Primary is a V for Donald Trump over Marco Rubio (despite an endorsement by S.C. gov. Nikki Haley) and Ted Cruz, causing pathetic loser Jeb Bush to drop out of the race after squandering $150M. On Feb. 22 the U.S. Congress returns from recess. On Feb. 22 after receiving millions of dollars in ransom, ISIS releases the last 42 of 230 Assyrian Christians kidnapped a year ago. On Feb. 22 a Russian-backed ceasefire is announced in Syria (until ?); too bad, it doesn't cover al-Qaida, ISIS and other Islamist groups. On Feb. 22 ((27th anniv.) Iran offers a new reward for the murder of novelist Salman Rushdie - thanks to Obama giving them all that dough? On Feb. 22 Russia requests U.S. permission to overfly the U.S. with its advanced high-powered digital cameras under the Open Skies Treaty, worrying the Pentagon, who think the cameras are too good. On Feb. 22 Ted Cruz fires campaign staffer Rick Tyler for spreading a false rumor about rival Marco Rubio questioning the Bible, which Rubio cites as an example of the "culture" of lies in Cruz's operation. On Feb. 23 Pres. Obama unveils his plan to close the military detention center in Gitmo (Guantanamo Bay, Cuba), claiming that leaving it open undermines nat. security, and if you don't buy that, it's contrary to Am. values. On Feb. 23 Jordan secures $1.7B in grants for its Syrian Response Plan for 2016-18. On Feb. 23 the Israeli Knesset holds its first-ever LGBT Rights Day, supported by PM Benjamin Netanyahu. On Feb. 23 the 2016 Nevada Repub. Caucus is a big V for Donald Trump with 45.9%, vs. 23.9% for Marco Rubio, and 21.4% for Ted Cruz; Ben Carson gets only 4.8% despite his soundbyte that Pres. Obama was raised by whites like a white, and he'd be the real first African-Am. U.S. pres. On Feb. 24 failed Repub. pres. candidate Mitt Romney calls for all pres. candidates to release their tax returns, saying that he believes there might be a "bombshell" in Donald Trump's returns; he replies that they're being held up in audit, which has been going on for years because he believes he's being discriminated against for being a "strong Christian". On Feb. 24 after record low oil prices ($33/barrel) the UAE announces a new 5% value-added tax starting Jan. 1, 2018, causing other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members to follow suit. On Feb. 25 (eve.) the 14th 2016 Repub. Pres. Debate at the U. of Houston in Tex. sees Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz gang up on Donald Trump in a last-ditch effort to save their campaigns; Rubio criticizes Trump for hiring illegal aliens, causing Trump to respond: "You haven't hired anybody"; on Feb. 26 N.J. gov. Chris Christie endorses Trump, becoming his first major endorsement, with the soundbyte: "I've experienced that over my friendship with him, and what the American people and our allies around the world are going to understand is that Donald Trump is someone who keeps his word, and that means America will keep its word again." On Feb. 26 elections for the Assembly of Experts in Iran elect a new generation that might choose a new assaholah; legislative elections in Iran see 12K run for office and 5.2K get rejected by the Guardian Council; they are followed by a 2nd round on Apr. 29 for 68 vacant seats are a V for Pres. Hassan Rouhani; for the first time more women than clergymen are seated. On Feb. 26 Repub. N.J. gov. Chris Christie endorses Donald Trump for U.S. pres., dissing Marco Rubio as a junior senator that Hillary could "run around the block", and praising Turump as the best person to defeat her. On Feb. 28 U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions endorses Donald Trump, with the soundbyte: "We need to make America great again", becoming a big blow to Ted Cruz; meanwhile Trump comes under fire for declining to disavow ex-KKK leader David Duke, who called him "by far the best candidate". On Feb. 28 the 2016 (88th) Academy Awards, presented at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. are hosted by Chris Rock, who turns it into an #OscarsSoWhite pity party; Lady Gaga sings for victims of campus sexual assault; the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award is won by Debbie Reynolds; the best picture Oscar for 2015 goes to Spotlight, which also wins for best original screenplay; the best dir. Oscar gove to Alejandro Inarritu for The Revenant; Leonardo DiCaprio wins the best actor Oscar for The Revenant, and Brie Larson wins the best actress Oscar for Room; DiCaprio uses his acceptance speech to push climate change legislation, with the soundbyte: "Climate change is real. It's happening right now"; Mark Rylance wins the best supporting actor Oscar for Bridge of Spies, and Alicia Vikander wins the best supporting actress for The Danish Girl; The Big Short wins for best adapted screenplay; Ennio Morricone wins for best original score for The Hateful Eight; Spectre's "Writing's on the Wall", sung by proudly gay Sam Smith wins for best original song; "Mad Max: Fury Road" wins six Oscars for sound editing, sound mixing, production design, costume design, makeup and hairstyling, and film editing; Ex Machina wins for best visual effects. On Feb. 29 Pakistan executes Malik Mumtaz Qadri for assassinating liberal Punjab province gov. Salman Taseer after he advocated reforming Pakistan's Islamist blasphemy laws, causing massive protests in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Hyderabad et al. organized by Islamist clerics. In Feb. the 2016-18 Big Chill begins (ends Feb. 2018), seeing global avg. temps drop 0.56C, greatest since 1982-4 (0.47C), becoming the greatest 2-year cooling event in a cent. In Feb. U.S. unemployment is 4.9% (vs. 4.9% in Jan.), adding 242K jobs. In Feb. 670 people incl. 400+ civilians are killed in Iraq. On Mar. 1 2016 Super Tuesday is a big V for Hillary Clinton, who wins Ala., Ark., Ga., Mass., Tenn., Tex, and Va., and Donald Trump, who wins Ala., Ark., Ga., Mass., Tenn., and Vt.; Ted Cruz wins Tex., Okla., and Alaska (despite Sarah Palin endorsing Trump), keeping his campaign alive; Bernie Sanders wins Colo., Minn., Okla., and Vt.; Marco Rubio wins only Minn.; John Kasich stays alive with 2nd place finishes in several states; Cruz calls on the other candidates to drop out and join him to take on Trump; Ben Carson drops out of the next debate, and out of the race by Mar. 5; Trump-hating Hillary-loving CIA dir. John O. Brennan freaks and launches an anti-Trump spying operation, going on to involve other intel agencies incl. the FBI. On Mar. 1 the aircraft carrier USS John S. Stennis begins patrolling the disputed South China Sea, pissing-off China, which claims almost all of it. On Mar. 1 Repub. S.D. Gov. Dennis Daugaard vetoes legislation that would have prohibited public school students from using opposite-sex restrooms, shocking conservatives. On Mar. 2 U.S. Army Gen. John W. "Mick" Nicholson takes command of U.S.-NATO forces in Afghanistan from U.S. Army Gen. John F. Campbell. On Mar. 2 the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee passes a bipartisan resolution declaring ISIS to be guilty of genocide "against Christians, Yezidis, and other religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria". On Mar. 2 in reponse to its 4th nuke test on Jan. 6 and its long-range missile test on Feb. 7, the U.N. Security Council votes 15-0-0 for Resolution 2270, imposing new sanctions on North Korea; on Mar. 3 North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un orders his military to be ready to use nukes "at any moment", threatening to carry out a "preemptive attack" on his enemies. On Mar. 3 Repub. pres. loser Mitt Romney attacks Donald Trump in a speech in Mormonland Utah, calling him "a phony, a fraud", warning that a Trump presidency could lead the U.S. into a dark abyss, urging Repubs. to rally around another candidate; meanwhile Trump beats him to the punch with an anti-Romney ad, followed by speech at a rally in Maine, where he calls Romney "a choke artist" and a "disaster" who "was begging" for his endorsement in 2012, and is too chicken to run against him now; in 2012 Romney uttered the soundbyte: "Donald Trump has shown an extraordinary ability to understand how our economy works, to create jobs for the American people. He's done it here in Nevada. He's done it across the country"; in the evening the 11th 2016 Repub. Pres. Debate sees Trump's opponents come out er, swinging, with Marco Rubio previously uttering the soundbyte: "You know what they say about men with small hands - you can't trust 'em", to which Trump replies: "He referred to my hands. If they are small, something else must be small. I guarantee you, there's no problem"; at the end they grudgingly admit that they'd support him if nominated because he's at least better than Hillary; meanwhile Repub. nat. security leaders release an open letter blasting Trump, claiming that "as president, he would use the authority of his office to act in ways that make America less safe, and which would diminish our standing in the world." On Mar. 3 Pope Francis delivers a speech to French Christians, with the soundbyte: "We can speak today of Arab invasion. It is a social fact.... How many invasions has Europe experienced in the course of its history! But it has always been able to overcome and go ahead, finding themselves increased by the exchange between cultures", adding: "A healthy secularism includes an opening to all forms of transcendence, according to the different religious and philosophical traditions." On Mar. 4 a nursing home founded by Mother Teresa in Aden, Yemen is attacked by four gunmen, who tie up and kill 16 incl. six nuns; 60 residents are unharmed. On Mar. 4 the Turkish govt. seizes the opposition newspaper Zaman, causing talk of Recep Tayyip Erogan becoming a dictator or even the Antichrist. On Mar. 4 former Brazilian pres. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is indicted on corruption and money laundering charges, causing the popularity of his successor and protege Pres. Dilma Rousseff to tank alond with that of the Workers' Party, which has won every pres. election since 2003. On Mar. 5 the U.S. stages an air strike in Raso Camp 120 mi. N of Mogadishu, Somalia, killing 150+ Al Shabaab fighters. On Mar. 5-6 the Org. of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) holds a Summit on Palestine in Jakarta, Indonesia, the fifth in its 47-year history, to devise a "strategy to counter the continuous illegal occupation and apartheid policies by the Israeli government, as well as to advance the peace process and to resolve the situation in Al-Quds Al-Sharif [Jerusalem]." On Mar. 6 a suicide bomber at a security checkpoint S of Baghdad, Iraq kills 47 and injures dozens. On Mar. 6 (Sun.) the 7th 2016 Dem. Pres. Debate in Flint, Mich. sees Hillary Clinton utter the soundbyte: "I think we have to try everything that works to try to limit the numbers of people and the kinds of people who are given access to firearms", causing Bernie Sanders to reply: "What you're really talking about is ending gun manufacturing in America. I don't agree with that." On Mar. 6 (Sun.) Donald Trump grants an interview to CBS-TV's "Face the Nation", responding to a question on his postiion on torture of Islamic savages with the soundbyte: "We have to beat the savages. You have to play the game the way they're playing the game", adding that ISIS savages are chopping off heads and drowning prisoners in cages; "We have an enemy that doesn't play by the laws. You could say laws, and they're laughing, they're laughing at us right now." On Mar. 7 Fox-TV sportscaster Erin Jill Andrews (1978-) is awarded $55M damages in a lawsuit over nude bathroom videos of her shot by stalker Michael David Barrett in the Nashville Marriott in Tenn. and posted on the Internet, finding him 51% to blame, and the hotel 49% - and zillions of more beautiful women give it away on the Internet for free? On Mar. 7 after polls show Roman Catholic support, a group of Roman Catholic leaders pub. an article in Nat. Review urging "our fellow Catholics and all our fellow citizens to reject" Donald Trump's candidacy. On Mar. 7 billionaire Michael Bloomberg announces that he won't buy, er, run for U.S. pres., claiming that his campaign could help put Donald Trump or Ted Cruz in the White House. On Mar. 8 a supermoon combines with a solar eclipse and the flyby of asteroid TX 68 by 19K mi., giving conspiracy theorists ammo. On Mar. 8 a Palestinian jihadist stabs and kills an Am. tourist and injures 10+ others in Tel Aviv, Israel, becoming the 3rd Palestinian attack of the day, with a total of one killed and 14 injured. On Mar. 8 Iran announces that it has test-fired several ballistic missiles (in violation of U.N. sanctions), with one inscribed with the Hebrew phrase "Israel should be wiped off the Earth", causing the Obama admin. to do nada while Hillary Clinton calls for more sanctions. On Mar. 8 Donald Trump gives a speech in Jupiter, Fla., then takes questions, after which reporter Michelle Fields ignores orders from Secret Service agents not to get too close to Trump, and his bodyguard Corey Lewandowski pulls her away, after which the police dept. charges him with battery because she has a bruise on her arm - meanwhile if a pig guns an innocent man down in broad daylight, he's not charged with a speck of dust? On Mar. 9 there is a total solar eclipse. On Mar. 9 U. of Lisbon law prof. (Roman Catholic) (Independent) Marcelo Nuno Duarte Rebelo de Sousa (1948-) (godson of last Portuguese dictator Marcelo Caetano) becomes pres. #20 of Portugal (until ?). On Mar. 9 madass Palestinian Bashar Masalha stabs U.S. Iraq War vet Taylor Force (b. 1987) and injures 10 others in Tel Aviv, Israel before being killed by Israeli police; U.S. vice-pres. is signing checks to Iran and the Palestinian Authority 1 mi. away at the Peres Center for Peace. On Mar. 9 22-y-o radical refugee Somalian Muslim imam ? is arrested hours before he planned to stage a jihadist attack on the Termini train station in Rome, Italy. On Mar. 9 Repub. pres. candidate Donald Trump gives an interview to Anderson Cooper of CNN, uttering the non-PC soundbyte: "Islam hates us... there's a tremendous amount of hatred there", replying to Cooper's question if he thinks the hatred comes from Islam itself with the soundbyte: "You're gonna have to figure that out, okay? We have to be very vigilant. We have to be very careful, and we can't allow people coming into this county who have this hatred of the United States"; he adds that Pres. Bush's invasion of Iraq was the "worst decision in the history of the United States"; on Apr. 8 Trump hires veteran political lobbyist Paul J. Manafort (1949-) as his convention mgr. On Mar. 9 former U.S. serviceman Tairod Pugh (1967-) is found guilty by a federal court of trying to travel to Syria to join ISIS, becoming the first such case to reach a verdict in a U.S. courtroom. On Mar. 10 after 78-y.-o. Trump supporter John McGraw (1936-) is arrested for sucker-punching black protester Rakeem Jones earlier in the day, and Trump's mgr. Corey Lewandowski manhandles young female Breitbart News reporter Michelle Fields (who later resigns after her site backs Trump), the 12th Repub. pres. debate in Miami, Fla., hosted by the Washington Times and CNN sees Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz get nice with Trump, who uses the photo opp to woo the remaining Repub. voters; earlier in the day Trump's traitorous lawyer Michael Cohen makes a phone call to Trump-hating CNN pres. Jeff Zucker, who utters the soundbyte: "You cannot be elected President of the United States without CNN - FOX and MSNBC are irrelevant, irrelevant ", going on to tell him that he wants Trump to host a weekly show on CNN. On Mar. 11 violence by protesters pro and con causes a Donald Trump rally at the U. of Ill. in Chicago, Ill. to be canceled; on Mar. 12 at a Trump rally in Dayton, Ohio protester Tommy DiMassimo rushes the stage; he previously staged protests where he stood on the U.S. flag; the mobs are the work of insidious billionaire George Soros?; meanwhile Charles Evers, brothers of civil rights legend Medgar Evans endorses Trump, with the soundbytes that he's "the best candidate", those obsessed with the KKK past have to "stop living in the past", and "I believe in him first of all because he's a businessman. I think jobs are badly needed in Mississippi"; on Mar. 13 Trump blames Bernie Sanders' supporters for inciting protests at his rallies, vowing to send his own supporters to his events, defending his rallies by saying there have been "zero" injuries so far. On Mar. 12 (early a.m.) two ISIS chemical attacks in Taza, Iraq (near Kirkuk) kill a 3-y.-o. girl and injure 600, causing hundreds to flee. On Mar. 13 masked jihadists kill 14 tourists incl. four Europeans at a beach resort in Grand-Bassam, Ivory Coast. On Mar. 13 after attacks in 15 provinces of SE Turkey, pissed-off PKK Kurds stage an attack against the Turkish govt. in Ankara, Turkey, killing 37 and injuring 125. On Mar. 13 Egyptian justice minister (since 2015) Ahmed El-Zend is sacked for alleged blasphemy by the statement: "Even if he was a prophet, peace and blessings be upon him." On Mar. 13 regional elections in Germany are a D for Angela Merkel in two out of three federal states, while the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) Party surges to double-digits in all three states, which doesn't cause Merkel to reverse her Muslim immigration policy, instead ramping it up by planning on airlifting them directly from the Middle East. On Mar. 14 Russian pres. Vladimir Putin announces that Russia will begin pulling its troops out of Syria on Mar. 15; Assad didn't request it. On Mar. 14 the Pentagon announces that ISIS leader Omar al-Shisani the Chechen has been killed by a U.S.-led coalition strike in NE Syria on Mar. 4. On Mar. 14 after a resolution was introduced last Sept. 9 by U.S. Rep. (R-Neb.) Jeff Fortenberry, the U.S. House unanimously (393-0) votes to declare the atrocities committed by ISIS against Christians et al. in the Middle East to be genocide; on Mar. 17 after stalling, U.S. secy. of state John Kerry finally admits that "Daesh" is committing genocide against Christians, but incl. Shia Muslims to be Obama-correct; on July 7 the U.S. Senate unanimously approves a similar resolution. On Mar. 14 Pres. Obama meets with U.S. diplomats in Foggy Bottom, praising them for carrying out his policies on the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate change agreement while calling the Saudis "free riders", pissing them off along with Britain. On Mar. 15 the Second Super Tuesday sees Donald Trump trounce Marco Rubio in his home state of Fla., causing him to drop out of the race; Trump also wins Ill. and N.C., and ties with Cruz in Mo.; too bad, favorite son John Kasich wins Ohio; Hillary Clinton wins Fla., Ohio, and N.C.; after his big win, on Mar. 16 Trump announces that he won't engage in any more debates; about this time the Clinton campaign hooks up with Fusion GPS via its law firm Perkins Cole to do opposition research on Trump, and in Apr. it hires Fusion GPS, with Perkins Coie partner Marc Elias as bagman; in June Fusion GPS hires former British intel officer Christopher Steele to investigate Trump's Russian ties, writing his first memo on June 20, alleging that Trump used hos during a 2013 visit to Moscow, allowing the Kremlin to blackmail him and collude with him, which turns out to be moose hockey, along with the entire Russiagate fake scandal; it later turns out that Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson and his wife Mary Jacoby really wrote the Steele Dossier, based on articles they wrote for the Wall Street Journal. On Mar. 15 the Indian govt. announces the killing of 3 of 10 Pakistani Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists who entered India via Gujarat to carry out terrorist attacks during the Maha Shivaratri festivities. On Mar. 15 Pres. Obama hosts Irish PM Enda Kenny on Capitol Hill, using the occasion to "comment on our domestic politics", saying that Trump, er, the "vulgar and divisive rhetoric" of the U.S. pres. candidates is not an "accurate reflection" of the "American brand", and that "It has to stop", also dissing the attempts of protesters to shut down speeches and engage in violance, adding: "In America, there aren't laws that say that we have to be nice to each other or courteous or treat each other with respect. But there are norms, there are customs"; "I reject any effort to spread fear or encourage violence or to shut people down when they're trying to speak, or turn Americans against one another. And I think as a citizen... I will not support somebody who supports that kind of politics." On Mar. 16 Pres. Obama nominates centrist judge Merrick Brian Garland (1952-) for the U.S. Supreme Court, causing Repub. Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to utter the soundbyte: "The Senate will continue to observe the Biden Rule so that the American people have a voice in this momentous decision", referring to a speech vice-pres. Joseph Biden gave in the Senate on June 25, 1992, which contains the soundbyte: "Action on a Supreme Court nomination must be put off until after the election campaign is over. That is what is fair to the nominee and is central to the process." On Mar. 17 (a.m.) two Palestinian jihadists stab an Israeli woman at the Ariel junction bus stop in Samaria, Israel. On Mar. 17 reps of Kurdish-controlled territories vote in Rumeilan, Syria to form a federal system in N Syria. On Mar. 18 U.S. defense secy. Ash Carter announces that Pres. Obama plans to nominate USAF Gen. Lori Robinson (1958-) (cmdr. of the U.S. Pacific Command) to lead the U.S. Northern Command, becoming the first female combatant commander in U.S. history. On Mar. 19 (a.m.) a Boeing 737-800 en route from Dubai crashes and burns while trying to land at the airport in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, killing all 62 aboard. On Mar. 19 a lucky Katyusha rocket strike by ISIS kills U.S. soldier SSgt. Louis F. Cardin of Temecula, Calif. at Firebase Bell near Makhmur (45 mi. SE of Mosul) in N Iraq, becoming #2 since Aug. 2014; on Mar. 21 ISIS stages another attack on the base. On Mar. 19 24-y.-o. Turkish ISIS suicide bomber Mehmet Ozturk (b. 1992) detonates in front of the Greek consulate on busy Istiklal St. in Istanbul, Turkey, killing three Israeli tourists and one Iranian tourist. On Mar. 19 protesters against Donald Trump block streets outside his rally site in Fountain Hills, Ariz.. On Mar. 19 Pope Francis joins Instagram, posting on Twitter: "I am beginning a new journey, on Instagram, to walk with you along the path of mercy and the tenderness of God." On Mar. 20-22 the Am. Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. sees Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz et al. (not Bernie Sanders) give speeches, with Hillary uttering the soundbyte that "Tehran's fingerprings are on nearly every conflict across the Middle East", and "Iran remains an extremist regime that threatens to annhilate Israel", while supporting Obama's nuclear deal with Iran, and Cruz uttering the soundbyte that if he becomes pres. he will rip up Obama's nuclear deal with Iran "one day one", and not tolerate any Iranian ballistic missile tests: "Hear my words, Ayatollah Khomeini. If I am president and Iran launches a missile test, we will shoot that missile down." On Mar. 20-22 Pres. Obama visits Cuba (first U.S. pres. since Calvin Coolidge in 1918), tweeting "Que bola Cuba?" (What's up, Cuba?) from Air Force One as it lands at Jose Marti Internat. Airport near Havana, meeting with pres. Raul Castro but not his brother Fidel and allowing him to criticize the U.S., giving on Mar. 22 a speech to the Cuban people on Mar. 22, with the soundbyte "I have come here to bury the last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas", adding "We cannot ignore the very real differences that we have", then attending a baseball game between the Cuban nat. team and the ML Tampa Bay Rays, while ignoring all the repression?; meanwhile on Mar. 19 Obama delivers a Persian New Year Message to the people of Iran, pointing to his Cuban visit as "a reminder that even after decades of mistrust, it is possible for old adversaries to start down a new path." On Mar. 21 Mass. Dem. Sen. Elizabeth Warren begins tweeting against Donald Trump, calling him a "loser" whose "insecurities are on parade", comparing him to "many of history's worst authoritarians", criticizing him for racism, narcissism, and denigrating comments about women, calling him a "serious threat"; meanwhile Judge Jeanine Pirro utters the soundbyte: "Why would Republicans try to sabotage their own frontrunner and risk a Democrat winning the White House? I keep coming up with the same answer. The Republican establishment, elected officials and party leaders are in bed with the Democrats! If Hillary wins, nothing is lost for them, it's business as usual." On Mar. 22 (8:00 a.m.) days after Belgian authorities capture ISIS Paris jihadist Salah Abdeslam, coordinated ISIS suicide vest terror attacks at the Zaventem Nat. Airport and the key Maalbeek metro subway station near the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium kill 34 incl. 14 at the airport and injuring 187 in three explosions, causing heightened security throughout Europe while authorities shut Brussels down; suspects incl. brothers Khalid el-Bakraoui (b. 1978) and Ibrahim el-Bakraoui (b. 1976), Najim Laachraoui, who is found to be connected to the Paris attacks, and "man in the hat" Mohamed Abrini; Georgian journalist Ketevan Kardava takes an iconic photo of a victim at the airport; Pres. Obama condemns the attacks from Cuba, ignoring that Cuba is a state sponsor of terror, causing Repub. House Speaker Paul Ryan to utter the soundbyte that Obama's trip to Commie Cuba "legitimizes a tyrannical dictatorship"; on Mar. 23 a Je Suis Bruxelles march sees tens of thousands march; Donald Trump supporters brag about his Jan. 27 interview with Maria Bartiromo of Fox Network, where he uttered the soundbyte: "There is something going on, Maria. Go to Brussels. Go to Paris. Go to different places. There is something going on and it's not good, where they want Sharia law, where they want this, where they want things that, you know, there has to be some assimilation. There is no assimilation. There is something bad going on"; Ted Cruz calls for an immediate halt of "refugees from countries with a significant al-Qaida or ISIS presence", and utters the soundbyte: "We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized"; Hillary Clinton utters the soundbyte: "The last thing we need my friends are leaders who incite more fear." On Mar. 22 Donald Trump wins the Repub. primary in Ariz., while thanks mainly to Mitt Romney plus an endorsement by Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz wins in Utah; Hillary Clinton wins the Dem. primary in Ariz., while Bernie Sanders wins Utah and Idaho; the Ariz. election was rigged to disenfranchize Bernie voters? On Mar. 22 Donald Trump and Ted Cruz begin a wife war, dumping on each other's wives then blaming the other for it; too bad, Cruz steals a line from Michael Douglas in the 1995 film "The American President"; after more mutual hate rhetoric, on Mar. 29 Cruz and Trump revoke their vows to support the eventual nominee of the Repub. Party. On Mar. 23 Pres. Obama visits Argentina, where he is coaxed into dancing a tango, and gives a speech holding out Communism and Capitalism as equally viable choices, with the soundbyte: "You don't have to worry about whether it neatly fits into Socialist theory or Capitalist theory, you should just decide what works", causing White House Press Secy. Josh Earnest to explain that Obama really means that "capitalism is a system that brings freedom better than any other one." On Mar. 23 N.C. passes a law dictating which public bathrooms and dressing rooms transgenders are allowed to use, pissing-off the PC police, incl. singer Bruce Springsteen, who announces on Apr. 8 that he is cancelling his Apr. 10 show in Greensboro, N.C. On Mar. 23-24 U.S. secy. of state John Kerry meets with Russian pres. Vladimir Putin and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow to discuss Syria and Ukraine; Putin jokes that things must be "looking blue" in the U.S. when Kerry has to carry his own suitcase off the plane. On Mar. 24 (Holy Thur.) Pope Francis performs the annual foot-washing ritual at Castelnuovo di Porto near Rome, taking care to incl. Muslim refugees, along with Hindu refugees. On Mar. 25 U.S. defense secy. Ash Carter report that ISIS #2 man Haji Imam (Abd ar-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli) was killed in during a raid in Syria a week earlier, with the soundbyte: "We are systematically eliminating ISIL's cabinet." On Mar. 25 an ISIS suicide bomber at a soccer stadium in Iskanderiyah, Iraq (30 mi. S of Baghdad) kills 29 and injures 60. On Mar. 25 (Good Fri.) ISIS crucifies Roman Catholic Salesian priest Rev. Thomas Uzhunnalil, who was kidnapped in Yemen in Mar. at the Missionaries of Charity nursing home; on Mar. 28 the chief Catholic bishop in Arabia denies the story. On Mar. 25 (night) after being banned since the were founded, the Rolling Stones perform in Havana, Cuba. On Mar. 26 Islamist terrorists attack a nuclear facility in Charleroi, Belgium, killing a guard and stealing his security badge. On Mar. 26 (Super Sat.) Bernie Sanders scores a landslide V in Wash., Alaska, and Hawaii. On Mar. 27 (Easter Sun.) amid mass protests by Islamists over the execution of a man for killing a prov. governor for alleged blasphemy against Islam, an Islamist suicide bomber at a parking lot at a Christian Easter celebration in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Lahore, Pakistan kills 52 and injures 150, causing Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif on Mar. 29 to vow to root out terrorism; on Mar. 30 the federal parliament pledges to keep the death penalty law for blasphemy. On Mar. 27 Syrian forces recapture Palmyra, Syria from ISIS; meanwhile the Los Angeles Times pub. an article revealing that the CIA-armed Fursan al Haq (Knights of Righteousness) have been fighting the Pentagon-backed Syrian Dem. Forces since mid-Feb. in Marea (20 mi. N of Aleppo), Syria. On Mar. 27 (Easter Sun.) Pope Francis gives his 2016 Easter Message, urging the world to use the "weapons of love" to combat the evil of "blind and brutal violence". On Mar. 27 Donald Trump gives an interview to Jon Karl of ABC-TV, who asks him "You call yourself a counterpuncher. Would you be doing late night Twitter wars with world leaders who insulted you?", to which Trump replies: "Frankly, it's a great way of communicating... but I'm not going to be doing it it very much as president." On Mar. 28 58-y.-o. Egyptian Seif Eddin Mastafa (1957-) hijacks an EgyptAir flight en route from Cairo to Alexandria with a fake suicide belt, diverting the plane to Cyprus before being arrested; it was all about love for his Cypriot ex-wife? On Mar. 28 after pressure by Coca-Cola, Disney, Time Warner, the NFL, the NCAA and other big corps., Ga. gov. Nathan Deal vetoes House Bill 757, which was aimed at protecting faith-based believers from being forced to participate in gay weddings, calling Ga. a "welcoming state". On Mar. 29 new security laws come into effect in Japan permitting the self-defense forces to participate in foreign conflicts. On Mar. 29 the Pentagon finally admits that Russia is effectively bombing ISIS, not just anti-Assad rebels. On Mar. 29 U.S. Homeland security secy. Jeh Johnson gives an interview to MSNBC's "Morning Joe", claiming that Repub. campaign rhetoric about Obama's sacred cow Muslims has been "counterproductive"; meanwhile ex-CIA dir. Michael Hayden utters the soundbyte that Donald Trump's rhetoric has "already made Americans less safe" - which as good as admits that all Muslims are ticking time bombs liable to go jihadist when not bowed to enough? On Mar. 30 U.S. Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, known for telling Pres. Obama in early 2014 that ISIS was a "flash in the pan", leading to Obama calling it a "jayvee team", which later made him look like a fool relinquishes command of U.S. forces fighting ISIS. On Mar. 30 Colo. Dem. Gov. John Hickenlooper announces that he's bowing to the wishes of Fremont County residents and opposing the importation of Muslim detainees from Gitmo. On Mar. 30 Iranian author Salman Rushdie, who lives under a death threat fatwa by Ayatollah Khomeini gives a talk at the NYU Academic Center in Washington, D.C., with the soundbyte that it is a mistake for Pres. Obama not to use the term "Islamic terrrorism". On Mar. 30 exiled Muslim leader Dolkun Isa, head of the World Uighur Congress receives an award in Washington, D.C. from the Victims of Communism Memoral Foundation, pissing-off China, which issues a protest; on Mar. 31 Pres. Obama meets with Chinese pres. Xi Jinping in Washington, D.C., agreeing to cooperate on confronting the North Korean nuclear threat, pledging commitment to its denuclearization and agreeing to pass stringent new U.N. sanctions to punish it for its recent nuclear and missile tests. On Mar. 30 (anniv. of the birth of Muhammad's youngest daughter Fatima) Iranian supreme assasholla Ali Khameinei issues the soundbyte that Iran's ballistic missiles are "a source of happiness", and are crucial for nat. defense. On Mar. 30 Donald Trump puts his foot in his mouth during an interview with Chris Matthews of MSNBC, who says "There has to be some form of punishment" for women who have abortions; after an outcry, he rephrases that the doctor should be punished, not the woman, then on Apr. 1 utters the soundbyte: "The laws are set now on abortion and that's the way they're going to remain until they're changed." On Mar. 31 an elevated highway under construction in Kolkata, India collapses, killing 23 and injuring 85, causing police to file charges against the co.'s execs. On Mar. 31 Palestinian Authority pres. Mahmoud Abbas gives an interview on Israeli TV's "Uvda" program, condemning stabbing attacks on Israelis by Palestinians, pissing-off the hardcore Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which burns him in effigy. On Mar. 31 U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan strikes down a Miss. law banning same-sex couples from adopting, making it legal in all 50 U.S. states. On Mar. 31-Apr. 1 Pres. Obama hosts a Global Summit on Nuclear Materials, with 50 countries attending, but not Russia, which boycotts it; the goal is to keep ISIS, al-Qaida et al. from getting nukes; at a group photo he flashes a peace sign. In Mar. U. of Va. student Otto Warmbier (1984-2017) is given a 15-year sentence of hard labor for trying to steal a propaganda poster; on June 15, 2017 he is flown to the U.S. after it is discovered he had been in a coma for almost a year, blamed on botulism and a sleeping pill, and dies on June 20; brain damage is found, but no botulism - a plastic bag over his head? In Mar. the Mariam Mosque opens in Copenhagen, Denmark, run by feminist "imama" Saliha Marie Fetteh, pissing-off male Muslims. In Mar. the FBI warns the Clinton campaign of a cyberattack, but they refuse to cooperate. In Mar. global CO2 levels break the 400 ppm milestone. In the spring Trump-hating Hillary Clinton lover John O. Brennan begins pushing the FBI to open an investigation of Trump campaign collusion with Russia, shaking down foreign intel officials for dirt on Trump and coming up with nothing, with FBI agent Peter Strzok telling his lover Lisa Page "There's no there there", which doesn't stop him from accepting fake intel from British spy Christopher Steele (a 35-page dossier of salacious allegations about Trump and Russia) and using a Yahoo News article by Michael Isikoff based on Steele's story to approach U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, causing the latter to write an open letter to FBI dir. James Comey on Aug. 27, 2016 calling for an FBI investigation into Trump's campaign, containing the soundbyte: "The evidence of a direct connection between the Russian government and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign continues to mount and has led Michael Morrell, the former Acting Central Intelligence Director, to call Trump an ‘unwitting agent’ of Russia and the Kremlin. The prospect of a hostile government actively seeking to undermine our free and fair elections represents one of the gravest threats to our democracy since the Cold War and it is critical for the Federal Bureau of Investigation to use every resource available to investigate this matter thoroughly and in a timely fashion"; Brennan personally intervenes then overrules two CIA officers who disagree with his assessment that there is a high level of confidence that Russian pres. Vladimir Putin interfered in the 2016 U.S. pres. election with the specific goal of helping elect Donald Trump, changing the assessment to keep the investigation going; Brennan is aided by Hillary supporter Andrea Kendall-Taylor, close colleague of Eric Ciaramella,the Dem. whistleblower whose complaint leads to Trump's impeachment in 2017. On Apr. 1 Bernie Sanders gives an interview to the New York Daily News, in which he utters the soundbyte that Israel killed "10,000 innocents" in Gaza in 2014 - and he calls Trump a habitual liar? On Apr. 1 after being arrested last July, British Muslim delivery driver Junead Khan (1990-) is convicted of plotting a terrorist attack against U.S. military personnel in E England incl. Mildenhall RAF Base; his uncle Shazib Khan (1992-) is also convicted of planning to travel to Syria to fight with ISIS. On Apr. 2 fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan erupts in disputed Nagorno-Karabakh, killing 30 until Azerbaijan brokers a cease-fire. On Apr. 2 Pres. gives his weekly address, with the soundbyte about ISIS that "their morale is suffering". On Apr. 2 the Diyanet Center of Am. Sunni mega-mosque in Lanham, Md. is opened by Turkish pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan. On Apr. 2 Democracy Spring sees 100+ progressive groups begin 10 days of nonviolent protest marches from Philly to Washington, D.C. to "end the corruption of big money in politics and protect the right to vote for all Americans"; 900-1.2K are arrested. On Apr. 3 the Panama Papers, 2.6 terabytes of data containing 11.5M leaked documents are published, revealing financial secrets of 214,488+ offshore entities dating back to the 1970s after being stolen from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. On Apr. 3 (Sun.) Hillary Clinton appears on NBC-TV's Meet the Press", uttering the soundbyte: "The unborn person doesn't have constitutional rights"; on Apr. 5 she appears on ABC-TV's "The View", uttering the doubling down by adding that that unborn children don't have constitutional rights even hours before birth; she pisses-off feminists by using the word "person", drawing memories of the Dred Scott decision? On Apr. 4 suicide bomber inside a restaurant in Dhi Qar Province, Iraq s of Baghdad kills 14+. On Apr. 4 the U.S. Supreme (Roberts) Court unanimously rules in Evenwel et al. v. Texas. Gov. Abbott et al. that non-citizens incl. illegal immigrants can be counted by states when drawing legislative districts. On Apr. 4 N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo holds a celebration for the new $15/hour state min. wage, gaining praise from Hillary Clinton et al., even though she's only in favor of a $12/hour federal min. wage?; on Apr. 4 Calif. Jerry Brown signs a $15/hour min. wage law. On Apr. 4 the Panama Papers (11.5M documents) are pub. online by the Internat. Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), revealing secret offshore holdings of current and former world leaders incl. Vladimir Putin, but none from the West except Ian Cameron, father of British PM David Cameron. On Apr. 5 43 U.S. senators led by majority leader Mitch McConnell present a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of U.S. v. Tex., questioning the legality of the DREAM (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents) policy, claming that Pres. Obama is seeking to "implement his policy preferences" in regard to certain classes of illegal aliens "by the extra-constitutional assertion of a unilateral executive power." On Apr. 5 the Dem. Wisc. primary is a big V for Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders over front-runners Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton (48.3% to 35.1% and 56.5% to 43.1%), keeping them in the race. On Apr. 6 Jean-Marie Le Pen, father of Nat. Front leader Marine Le Pen is fined 30K euros for denying the existence of Nazi gas chambers; France is just one of 15 Euro nations that criminalize Holocaust denial; on Apr. 8 another French court convicts two anti-Israeli Arabs, Saadia Ben Fakha (26) and Husein Abu-Zaid (58) of Holocaust denial and fines them 3K Euros for posting "What Hitler did to the Jews was done so that the world will sympathize with them and give them all the rights" on Facebook, even though this seems to affirm the Holocaust. On Apr. 6 former U.S. Rep. (R-Va.) Frank Wolf issues the soundbyte that the fight against radical Islamist terrorists is so bad that "We are in World War III", and that if the Congress and Obama admin. doesn't do something "some very bad things are going to happen in the world". On Apr. 7 PLO secy.-gen. Saeb Erekat rejects an offer for peace talks by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, with the soundbyte: "Netanyahu should first announce an end of settlement, release prisoners arrested before [the] signing [of the] Oslo peace accords in 1993, and recognize all the signed peace treaties between the two sides." On Apr. 7 Air France resumes thrice-weekly flights fom Paris to Tehran after a 3-year suspension, requiring air hostesses to wear headscarves to appease Islam, causing a firestorm of controversy. On Apr. 7 Hillary Clinton gives a speech in Denver, Colo., using a white noise machine to block reporters from hearing what she said. On Apr. 7 former police officer Tammy Grace Barnett (1990-) becomes the first woman to enlist in the U.S. Army at the entrance processing station in Shreveport, La. On Apr. 8 Pope Francis pub. the 260-page paper Amoris Laetitia (On Love in the Family), urging priests to be more accepting of gays and lesbians along with divorce Catholics, dissing the idea of "living in sin". On Apr. 8 Hillary Clinton takes four swipes with her MetroCard to pass through a turnstile at the 161st St. subway station in Bronx, N.Y. en route from Yankee Stadium, drawing snipes by Donald Tripe, er, Trump, Saturday Night Live et al. On Apr. 9 ISIS attacks the Philippine army in Basilan, Western Mindanao, Philippines, killing 18 and injuring 53, becoming the first major ISIS attack in the Philippines. On Apr. 9 Saudi King Salman visits Egypt; Egyptian pres. Abdul Fatah Sisi transfers control of the strategic Red Sea islands of Sanafir and Tiran to him. On Apr. 10 (Sun.) Pres. Obama gives an interview to Chris Wallace on "Fox News Dumday", er, "Fox News Sunday", with the soundbyte after the criminal investigation of Hillary Clinton's emails dragging its feet: "I guarantee that there is no political influence" in any Dept. of Justice investigation; when asked about terrorism, he utters the soundbyte that no president has "taken more terrorists off the field" than him; when asked to name his worst mistake as pres., he points to toppling Libyan dictator Col. Daffy, with the soundbyte: "Probably failing to plan for the day after"; his greatest accomplishment was "saving the economy from a Great Depression". On Apr. 10 Tex. Sen. Ted Cruz sweeps all 37 Colo. delegates without citizens being allowed to vote in a primary, pissing-off registered Repubs. in Colo., that they burn their registration cards, along with Donald Trump, who utters the soundbyte: "How is it possible that the people of the great State of Colorado never got to vote in the Republican Primary? Great anger – totally unfair!... The people of Colorado had their vote taken away from them by the phony politicians. Biggest story in politics. This will not be allowed!"; he tells Fox News: "I've gotten millions... of more votes than Cruz, and I've gotten hundreds of delegates more, and we keep fighting, fighting, fighting, and then you have a Colorado where they just get all of these delegates, and it's not [even] a system. There was no voting. I didn't go out there to make a speech or anything... The system is rigged. It's crooked." On Apr. 10 elections in Peru give 40% to Keiko Fijumori Higuchi of Fuerzo Popular, daughter of ex-pres. Alberto Fujimori, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2009; Pedro Pablo Kuczynski of Peruanos Por el Kambo comes in 2nd at 20.1%. On Apr. 10 Hillary Clinton holds a media cocktail party in Upper East Side, New York City, where she gives them marching orders for rigging the election? On Apr. 12 Pres. Obama dedicates the Belmont-Paul Women's Equality Nat. Monument in Washington, D.C., using the opportunity to plug the pres. candidacy of Hillary Clinton, with the soundbyte: "I want them to come here and be astonished that there was ever a time when women could not vote. I want them to be astonished that there was ever a time when women earned less than men for doing the same work. I want them to be astonished... that there was ever a time when a woman had never sat in the Oval Office", adding: "I don't know how long it will take to get there, but I know we're getting closer to that day." On Apr. 12 the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee releases a European Terror Threat Snapshot, announcing that since 2014 35 ISIS-linked attack plots aimed at Europe have emerged (2/mo.), while 5K EU citizens have traveled to Syria and Iraq, with 1K returning to Britain, France, Germany, and Belgium; it also claims that the terror threat to the U.S. and Europe is "increasingly lethal". On Apr. 12 Irish rock star Bono of U2 testifies before the U.S. Senate State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee, comparing ISIS with the Nazis, and uttering the soundbyte that the best way to fight ISIS is to make fun of it: "So I'm suggesting that the Senate send in Amy Schumer and Chris Rock and Sasha Baron Cohen", admitting that his suggestion might sound "a little bizarre" but that he's "dead serious". On Apr. 12 U.S. Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) utters the soundbyte that the fast-tracking of Syrian refugee applications by the Obama admin. is "a threat to our national security". On Apr. 13 U.S. Col. Steve Warren of the Pentagon announces that phase one of Pres. Obama's mission to "degrade and defeat" ISIS is complete, adding that phase two is to dismantle them before phase 3 defeating them. On Apr. 13 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announce that the rate of syphilis infection among gay men is the highest since the start of the HIV/AIDs epidemic in the 1980s; they also announce that there were 1.4M cases of chlamydia in 2014, the "highest number of annual cases of any condition ever reported". On Apr. 13 U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) becomes the first U.S. senator to endorse Bernie Sanders for U.S. pres., saying that while Hillary Clinton is "strong and capable", Bernie is "boldly and fiercely" taking on the country's problems. On Apr. 14 the 80-member Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace releases an appeal to Pope Francis, calling on him to pub. a "major teaching document" stating that there is no "just war", reversing the long-held Just War Theory of the Church. Cooler heads jokes here? On Apr. 14 Washington, D.C.-born "Science Guy" (bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell U.) William Sanford "Bill" Nye (1955-) releases a video interview with Marc Morano of Climate Depot, er, warming to the idea of jailing climate skeptics; on Aug. 22, 2016 Nye gives an interview to CBS News, acknowledging that climate skeptics have been "surprisingy successful" in influencing public opinion, but only "because they are almost exclusively funded by the fossil fuel industry", which is challenged by Marc Morano of Climate Depot, who utters the soundbyte: "It is the environmental left that frequently enjoys amounts of fossil fuel funding that skeptics never see." On Apr. 14 (eve.) the 9th Dem. Pres. Debate at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in Brooklyn, N.Y. sees Bernie Sanders utter the soundbyte: "This is what you do do", later getting lampooned by comedians; he goes on to diss Israel, claiming that it has responded disproportionately to Palestinian provocations, and that Benjamin Netanyahu "is not right all of the time", adding that the U.S. "is going to have to treat the Palestinian people with respect and dignity", and "I believe the United States and the rest of the world have got to work together to help the Palestinian people"; Hillary Clinton responds "I don't know how you run a country when you are under constant threat, terrorist attacks, rockets coming at you. You have a right to defend yourself", endorsing a two-state solution that "would give the Palestinians the rights... and the automony that they deserve", adding: "And let me say this, if Yasser Arafat had agreed with my husband at Camp David in the Late 1990s to the offer then Prime Minister Barak put on the table, we would have had a Palestinian state for 15 years." On Apr. 15 the U.S. Army announces that it will commission 22 women as infantry and armor officers for ground combat, becoming the first ever. On Apr. 15 UNESCO passes a resolution calling Israel and "occupying power" of the Western Wall and Temple Mount, and ignores any Jewish connection to it, calling it the Al-Buraq Plaza and Al-Aksa Mosque, causing Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to utter the soundbyte: "UNESCO ignores the unique historic connection of Judaism to the Temple Mount, where two temples stood for a thousand years and to which every Jew in the world has prayed for thousands of years. The U.N. is rewriting a basic part of human history and has once again proven that there is no low to which it will not stoop." On Apr. 16 (Sat.) (6:00 a.m.) Bernie Sanders meets privately with Pope Francis for 5 min. at his residence in the Vatican to discuss a "moral economy"; the pope then visits Lesbos, Greece to meet with Muslim invaders, er, migrants, taking four families (12) back to the Vatican aboard his papal plane. On Apr. 16 a 7.8 earthquake near Quito, Ecuador; on Apr. 22 a 6.0 earthquake hits 100km NW of Portoviejo, Ecuador. On Apr. 16 British digital spy agency GCHQ head Robert Hannigan apologizes for the org.'s historical prejudice against gays, saying it failed to learn from the maltreatment of WWII codebreaker Alan Turing. On Apr. 16 the Saudi govt. issues a threat to sells $750B of U.S. financial assets if Congress passes a bill to make it legally responsible for any role in the 9/11 attacks; the only difference since 9/11 is that the threat is now public? On Apr. 17 Israel discovers and destroys a Hamas terror tunnel in Gaza, which on Apr. 18 Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu calls a "pioneering achievement". On Apr. 18 the govt. of Jordan passes constitutional amendments giving the king powers to make appointments to top posts. On Apr. 18 Hillary Clinton gives an interview to The Breakfast Club hip-hop radio show in New York City, uttering the soundbyte that Donald Trump is the "donkey of the decade". On Apr. 18 Bernie Sanders releases the video Love Trumps Hate, slamming anti-Muslim bigotry as distracting people from the real problems of wealth inequality and injustice. On Apr. 18 (p.m.) a bus is bombed in Jerusalem, Israel by a Palestinian Hamas member, injuring 21, causing both Hamas and Fatah to praise the attack. On Apr. 19 the Target retail chain announces that they "welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity", causing their stock to drop by 4.2% ($1.5B) by Apr. 28. On Apr. 19 the New York Pres. Primary sees Donald Trump score a big V, with 60.5% of the vote, vs. 25.1% for John Kasich and 14.5% for Ted Cruz; Hillary Clinton defeats Bernie Sanders by 58%-42%. On Apr. 20 Pres. Obama visits Saudi Arabia to meet with Persian Gulf leaders and discuss Yemen, Iraq, Syria et al., failing to bring up 9/11, Sharia, etc.; Michelle Obama doesn't attend; Iranian assaholei Khameini utters the soundbyte that Saudi Arabia is a "corrupt sycophantic hollow regime", adding "To Hell with it." On Apr. 20 the U.S. Treasury announces that black anti-slavery activist Harriet Tubman will replace white slaveholder U.S. pres. Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill; Alexander Hamilton is allowed to stay on the $10 bill after a popular Broadway show lobbies for him. On Apr. 20 the U.S. Supreme (Roberts) Court by 6-2 rules that $2B in frozen Iranian assets must be turned over to the families of Americans killed in the 1983 U.S. Marine Corps Barracks bombing. On Apr. 20 after they refuse to stop at a border checkpoint in Qamlishi, Syria, Kurdish police (Asayish) get in a 3-day firefight with the Syrian army, killing 10 Kurdish and 22 Syrian soldiers along with 17 civilians before the Russian negotiate a ceasefie on Apr. 22. On Apr. 22 the Obamas visit the U.K., lunching with Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle to celebrate her 90th birthday on Apr. 21, then dining at Kensington Palace with Prince William, Prince Harry, and Kate Middleton. On Apr. 22 (Earth Day) the Paris Climate Agreement (Accord) is opened for signatures at the U.N. HQ in New York City, setting a long-term goal of keeping the increase in global avg. temp to below 2C above pre-industrial levels, and limiting the increase to 1.5C, with each country voluntarily setting targets and target dates, along with plans and reporting mechanisms; by May 2018 195 members sign the agreement, and 177 become a party to it. On Apr. 25 Pres. Obama visits Germany, uttering the soundbyte that "Yes, these are unsettling times", calling on Germans to "welcome and integrate people of all backgrounds and faiths and make them feel as one, and that includes Muslims", adding: "And when the future is uncertain, there seems to be an instinct in our human nature to withdraw to the perceived comfort and security of our own tribe, our own sect, our own nationality - people who look like us, sound like us, but in today's world, more than any time in human history, that is a false comfort. It pits people against one another because of what they look like or how they pray or who they love", claiming that such "twisted thinking" can lead to guilt trip, er, oppression, segregation, inernment camps, and the Holocaust, lamely trying to compare the U.S. experience with integrating blacks to their experience trying to integrate intolerant supremacist Muslims, who are known for doing just what Obama says gives them false comfort?; he also utters the soundbyte: "We are fortunate to be living in the most peaceful, most prosperous, most progressive era in human history." On Apr. 26 the Apr. 2016 Super Tues. Primary is a big V for Donald Trump, who wins Conn., Del., Md., Penn. and R.I.; Hillary Clinton wins Conn., Del., Md., and Penn., and Bernie Sanders wins R.I.; on Apr. 27 instead of dropping out, "Lyin'" Ted Cruz announces Carly Fiorina as his running mate; Trump utters the soundbyte: "Frankly, if Hillary Clinton were a man, I don't think she'd get 5 percent of the vote. The only thing she's got going is the women's card. And the beautiful thing is, women don't like her." On Apr. 26 Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos meets with Maltese prof. Joseph Mifsued, who introduces him to claimed Vladimir Putin relative Olga and offers to arrange a summit, later offering "dirt" on Hillary Clinton in the form of "thousands of emails"; in May Papadopoulos drunkenly admits to Australian diplomat Alexander Downer in the Kensington Wine Rooms in London, England that the Russians have damaging info. on Hillary Cinton, causing the FBI to open an investigation into the Trump campaign. On Apr. 27 ISIS suicide bombers ambush a British special forces convoy en route from Misrata, Libya to Sirte. On Apr. 27 Donald Trump delivers his Foreign Policy Speech at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., spelling out an America First approach, staying fuzzy but explaining "We must as a nation be more unpredictable"; meanwhile former House Speaker John Boehner gives an interview to David M. Kennedy of Stanford U., calling Ted Cruz "Lucifer in the flesh", saying "I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life", while claiming to be friends with Donald Trump, calling him a "texting buddy". On Apr. 27 (night) after breaking the Feb. truce, Syrian air strikes destroy Al Quds Hospital in Aleppo, killing 14 incl. two doctors, beginning a massive Syrian army assault on Aleppo, Syria, backed by Russian and Iranian forces, with airs trikes lasting for a week and inflicting hundeds of casualties. On Apr. 30 ISIS car-bombs an open air market filled with Shiites E of Baghdad, Iraq, killing 21 and injuring 42; on May 1 two car bombs in Samawah, Iraq kill 31 and injure dozens. In Apr. the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests near the Standing Rock Indian Rez in N.D. to stop the Energy Transfer Partners' Dakota Access Pipeline from Bakken Oil Fields in W N.D. to S. Ill. because it runs near a sacred burial site under the Missouri River outside the Rez but on land they claim; on Dec. 4 after internat. publicity, construction is halted for an environmental impact assessment. On Apr. ? Hillary Clinton gives a Speech on Income Inequality while wearing a $12,495 Giorgio Armani designer jacket. In Apr. the U.K. requires all dogs to be microchipped. In Apr. the Common Interest Agreement is signed by 17 attorneys-gen. in the U.S. "to obstruct open-records requests" while investigating fossil fuel cos. and climate change deniers. On May 1 the 2016 Fort McMurray (Horse River) Wildfire SW of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada begins, causing the evacuation of 88K, destroying 2.4K structures, and causing $9.9B damage, becoming the costliest disaster in Canadian history (until ?); it is declared to be under control on July 5 after burning 1.5M acres; no official cause is determined (until ?). On May 3 Hillary Clinton campaigns in W. Va., facing angry pro-Trump protesters who are pissed-off at her promises to shut down the coal industry. On May 3 (Tues.) after Trump begins crowing that he's his party's presumptive nominee, the 2016 Ind. Pres. Primary is a crushing V for Donald Trump by 53.2% to 36.7%, causing Ted Cruz to drop out of the race, and Trump to try and mend his fences with a glowing tribute; Bernie Sanders defeats Hillary Clinton 53.1% to 46.9%, allowing his campaign to keep flying on a wing and a prayer; on May 5 John Kasich drops out of the race. On May 4 Iranian supreme assashola Ali Khamenei announces that before a woman convicted of a capital offense is gang-raped and beaten to death, she gets to choose the number of rapists, 15-30. On May 4 Hillary Clinton gives an interview to CNN's Anderson Cooper, saying that she wants to "take on all the barriers that stand in the way of people getting ahead", putting her foot in her mouth with the soundbyte that she's running to replace Pres. Obama "to really deal with the economy, get it working again." On May 5 EU leaders meet in Rome to discuss the refugee crisis, incl. a plan to find countries that refuse to accept them 250K euros apiece, with German chancellor Angela Merkel warning about Europe "falling back into nationalism". On May 6 Ala. state supreme court chief justice Roy Moore is suspended from office after telling state probate judges to refuwe to issue same-sex marriage licenses until the legal conflict is resolved. On May 6 1996 U.S. Repub. pres. nominee Bob Dole endorses Donald Trump for U.S. pres., calling him the party's best chance to win back the White House; meanwhile Pres. Obama disses Trump, with the soundbyte: "We are in serious times, and this is a really serious job. This is not entertainment. This is not a reality show. This is a contest for the presidency of the United States", claiming that his views will wither under "exacting standards and genuine scrutiny". On May 7 Labour Party candidate Sadiq Aman Khan (1970-), son of Pakistani immigrants (a Muslim Uncle Tom?) becomes mayor of London, England (until ?), becoming the first to lead a major Euro capital, with the soundbyte: "The politics of fear is simply not welcome in our city." On May 7 Hillary Clinton wins the Dem. caucus in Guam. On May 8 (Sun.) Saudi King Salman announces new royal decrees to restructure the country in an attempt to reduce its dependence on selling oil by 2030 AKA Vision 2030. On May 8 60K rally at the Turkish consulate on Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles, Calif. to protest the WWI-era genocide of 1.5M Armenian Christians. On May 9 (Mon.) a rare transit of Venus. On May 9 a senior Iranian gen. announces the successful test of a precision-guided medium-range ballistic missile two weeks earlier, adding that if Supreme Assahollah Ali Khamanei gives the order, "We will raze the Zionist regime in less than eight minutes." On May 10 an Allah Akbar-shouting Muslim stages a knife attack at a train station in Grafing, Germany, attacking four and killing a 50-y.-o. man, with the soundbyte: "I'll stab you all, you infidels! Allahu akbar!" On May 10 the W. Va. Pres. Primary is a V for Donald Trump (77% vs. 9% for Ted Cruz), and Bernie Sanders (51.4% vs. 35.8% for Hillary Clinton), keeping him in the race. On May 10 Donald Trump sends an email to Fla. gov. Rick Scott recommending Cuban-born Jose Izquierdo for a judgeship in Broward County, which is done on May 23: too bad, he has a record of supporting criminal immigrants, embarrassing Trump when it is exposed on Aug. 24. On May 11 by a 372-51-99 vote, Italy recognizes same-sex marriages. On May 12 U.S.-backed so-called moderate rebel group Ahrar al-sham stages a bloody massacre in the Alawite town of Zara, Syria NW of Aleppo near the Turkish border. On May 12 NATO's Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System becomes operational in Deveselu, Romania; on May 13 another site is begun in Redzikowo, Poland. On May 12 the Obama admin. issues a directive requiring every school district in the U.S. to allow transgenders to use the bathrooms, showers, and locker rooms of their choice, threatening lawsuits or withholding of funds to any who disobey. On May 13 an Israeli attack near the airport in Damascus, Syria kills Hezbollah cmdr. Mustafa Badreddine, a terrorist involved in the 1983 Beirut Marine Barracks Bombing; meanwhile Turkish pres. Erdogan hints at the possibility of sending troops into Syria, citing problems in the border town of Kilis 20 mi. NE of Zara. On May 13 the aging remnants of the defunct Russian Communist Party meet in Moscow and forms the Atheists of Russia to combat increasing clerical influence in the Russian govt. On May 13 govt. watchdog group Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust blasts the "highly suspicious" actions of the Clinton Global Initiative for aiding a for-profit energy conservation firm Energy Pioneer Solutions, which is partly-owned by blond divorcee Julie Tauber McMahon, who is a close friend (lover?) of Bill Clinton in Chappaqua, N.Y., and daughter of millionaire Dem. Party donor Joel Tauber, suspected of being the women called Energizer by the Secret Service because of her frequent visits to the Clinton home when Bill was home and Hillay was away; other co-owners incl. Dem. Nat. Committee treasurer Andrew Tobias and former Dem. congressional candidate Scott Kleeb. On May 14 the Third Holocaust Internat. Cartoon Contest in Tehran, Iran. On May 14 supporters of Bernie Sanders threaten to kill Nev. Dem. Party chairwoman Roberta Lange for rigging the convention. On May 16 the U.S. House of Reps unanimously passes the U.S. Frank Wolf Internat. Religious Freedom Act, sponsored by Rep. (R-N.J.) Chris Smith, upgrading the 1998 U.S. Internat. Religious Freedom Act to give the White House and State Dept. new resources to combat Muslim, er, persecution of religious minorities. On May 16 Donald Trump gives an interview to Piers Morgan of ITV's "Good Morning Britain" about new London mayor Sadiq Khan, responding to the latter's comments that Trump is "stupid" with "Let's take an IQ test", then responding to PM David Cameron's remarks against him with: "I don't care. It looks like we're not going to have a very good relatinship.... Just keep in mind I do not forget." On May 17 Pres. Obama celebrates Internat. Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, with the soundbyte that he's "proud" of his record in "advancing the human rights of LGBT individuals". On May 17 Pope Francis gives an interview to La Croix, with the soundbyte: "I don't think that there is a fear of Islam as such but of ISIS and its war of conquest, which is partly drawn from Islam. It is true that the idea of conquest is inherent in the soul of Islam. However, it is also possible to interpret the objective in Matthew's Gospel, where Jesus sends his disciples to all nations, in terms of the same idea of conquest." On May 17 the U.S. Senate passes legislation allowing families of 9/11 victims to sue the Saudi govt.; the Obama admin. claims that it can open the U.S. open to lawsuits for post-9/11 detention policies at Gitmo etc. On May 17 the 2016 Ore. Repub. Primary is a V for Donald Trump with 63% vs 19% for John Kasic and 16% for Ted Cruz; meanwhile the PC blasts him for his old trick of pretending to be his own publicist, as if it matters whether he's personally on the other end of the phone blowing his own horn or paying somebody to do it for him; the 2016 Ore. Dem. Primary is a V for Bernie Sanders, with 53% vs. 47% for Hillary Clinton; the Ky. primary is a push, with 46.8% for Clinton and 46.3% for Sanders, a difference of 2K out of 400K votes. On May 18 the Afghan govt. signs a draft peace accord with Hizb-e-Islami, led by Gulbudding Hekmatyar, #2 militant group after the Taliban. On May 18 Queen Elizabeth II gives he annual speech to Parliament, unveiling the biggest prison reform since Victorian times, giving more freedom to local wardens and encourage the use of social media by inmates. On May 18 after Gizmodo mag. pub. an expose of Facebook's practice of censoring non-liberal news in its Trending Topics sections, causing calls for govt. intervention, Mark Suck, er, Zuckerberg meets with conservatives and promises that they will quit doing it - no mention of vicious suppression of Islam critics? On May 18 (night) EgyptAir Flight 804 crashes into the Mediterranean with 66 aboard. On May 19 Hillary Clinton slams future pres. Donald Trump as "divisive and dangerous", "unmoored", and not qualified to be U.S. pres. like she is :) On May 21 Donald Trump is endorsed by the Nat. Rifle Assoc. (NRA), calling for an end to gun-free zones; on May 22 Hillary Clinton gives a speech at the Trayvon Martin Foundation's Circle of Mothers dinner, with the soundbyte: "Unlike Donald Trump, I will not pander to the gun lobby." On May 21 Afghan Taliban emir Mullah Mansour is killed by a U.S. drone strike in Baluchistan Province, Pakistan, and his eldest son Mullah Haibatullah becomes new emir (until ?). On May 23 Pres. Obama meets with Vietnamese pres. Tran Dai Quang in Hanoi, Vietnam and lifts the decades-long arms embargo to help it fight China. On May 23 the Obama admin. proclaims Extreme Heat Week (until May 27), ordering federal agencies to work with communities to "enhance preparedness for extreme heat events" - it's a beautiful day we'll have some laughs? On May 23 the Iraqi army launches a major assault on Fallujah, Iraq. On May 25 Pope Francis gives a speech in St. Peter's Square about the Islamist terrorist attacks in "beloved Syria", with the soundbbyte that he prays to God to "convert the hearts of those who sow death and destruction." On May 26 U.S. Rep. (R-N.J.) Chris Smith utters the soundbyte that it is "unconscionable" that of 499 Syrian refugees admitted to the U.S. so far this month, zero are Christian. On May 27 Pres. Obama visits Hiroshima, Japan, becoming the first U.S. pres. to lay a wreath at the Hiroshima Memorial, uttering the soundbyte: "We have known the agony of war. Let us now find the courage, together, to spread peace, and pursue a world without nuclear weapons." On May 28 after a 3-y.-o. boy falls into its pen at the Cincinnati Zoo, zoo officials assassinate 17-y.-o. male endangered Western lowland gorilla Harambe, causing a public outcry; too bad, the PC media devotes excessive airtime to this local issue? On May 30 after a Saudi decision to ban Iranian flags et al., Iran announces that it won't participate in this years Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). On May 30 the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Summit in Paris. On May 31 after announcing in Mar. that he has raised $6M for veterans, but only distributing a fraction, and suddenly releasing more last week, Donald Trump releases a list of 41 groups that he has donated a total of $5.6M to, saying that Hillary Clinton has donated nothing to veterans; actually, it was $70K. In May a Hamas-Fatah Reconciliation Initiative is announced by Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and UAE. In May the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) reaches 5,350 African and Asian illegal immigrants detained along the U.S. Mexico border since Oct. 2015, vs. 4,261 in all of 2015, and 1,831 in 2014, incl. from terror-linked countries incl. Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Syria, causing efforts to stop them at the Mexico-Guatemala border. In May U.S. unemployment is 4.7%, with the economy adding only 38K jobs. On June 2 Pres. Obama gives the commencement address at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., praising new U.S. Northern Combat Command gen. Lori Robinson (who has never flown a plane), along with gay and Muslim cadets, claiming they will make the U.S. stronger; too bad, a Thunderbirds fighter jet crashes after the flyover, serving as an omen of the new weakened USAF? - women, gays and Muslims, who are ordered by Allah to keep the other two groups down, a match made in heaven? On June 2 Hillary Clinton gives a speech in San Diego, Calif. slamming rival Donald Trump, calling him "dangerously incoherent" and "unfit for office", accusing him of peddling "outright lies", with the soundbyte: "He is temperamentally unfit to hold an office that requires knowledge, stability and immense responsibility"; Trump fires back, with the soundbyte: "It was pathetic. It was so sad to watch. She was up there, supposed to be a foreign policy speech, it was a political speech, had nothing to do with foreign policy"; meanwhile House Speaker Paul Ryan breaks and endorses Trump. On June 2 a video surfaces of a gang rape of a retarded 5-y.-o. girl by three Muslim refugee boys in Twin Falls, Idaho (pop. 50K), after which the PC media attempts a coverup followed by intimidation of local protesters; on Aug. 6 Muslim refugee Mohammed Hussein Ibraheim Eldai is charged with the sexual assault of a 33-y.-o. retarded woman, causing another attempted coverup. On June 3 Luxembourg announces a 200M Euro line of credit for space countries who set up their Euro HQs within its borders, claiming it want s to be the Silicon Valley of the space mining industry. On June 3 ISIS burns 19 young Yazidi girls alive in iron cages in Mosul, Iraq for refusing to become sex alaves. On June 5 the Islamic month of Ramadan begins, causing ISIS to authorize a Month of Jihad in the U.S. and Europe; on June 5 Hillary Clinton sticks her foot in her mouth with the Tweet "As we begin Ramadan", as if she is now a Muslim herself. On June 5 Miss USA 2016 (65th) Pageant in Las Vegas, Nev. (first broadcast on Fox) is won by Deshauna Barber (1989-) of Washington, D.C. after social media decides the winner for the first time. On June 5 Pres. Obama talks with Bernie Sanders in a bid to unify the Dem. Party around Hillary Clinton, whom he plans on officially endorsing soon; on June 6 after winning in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, Hillary Clinton becomes the first woman in U.S. history to secure the nomination of a major political party; Bernie Sanders calls it a "rush to judgment" because it counts unpledged superdelegates. On June 6 (7:00 a.m.) a terrorist attack at the Baqaa Palestinian Refugee camp (largest in Jordan) near Amman, Jordan kills five incl. three Jordanian officers. On June 7 the 2016 Super Tues. Primary is a V for Donald Trump, who wins N.J., S.D., Mont., N.M., and Calif., breaking the Repub. primary vote record by 1.4M votes and reaching 1,536 delegates; Hillary Clinton splits the primaries with Bernie Sanders, winning Calif., N.J., N.M., and S.D., while Sanders wins N.D and Mont., giving her 2,184 pledged delegates vs. 1,804 for him, along with 571 superdelegates for Hillary and only 48 for Sanders. On June 8 an Islamist terrorist attack at the Sarona Market in Tel Aviv, Israel by Muslims dressed as orthodox Jews firing homemade machine guns kills four and injures six before the guns jam, becoming the first Israelis killed by terrorists since Taylor Force on Mar. 8; on June 7 Hamas' military wing 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades pub. an article on its Web site calling for jihad and martyrdom during the month of Ramadan. On June 9 Pres. Obama endorses Hillary Clinton for U.S. pres., congratulating her on "making history", and saying "I don't think there's ever been someone so qualified to hold this office"; meanwhile White House spokesman Josh Earnest tells reporters that the FBI investigation into Hillary's handling of classified email is a "criminal investigation", causing Judge Andrew Napolitan to call Obama's endorsement of Hillary a "conflict of interest". On June 10 Ore. judge Amy Holmes Hehn legally changes the sex of Jamie Shupe from female to "non-binary", becoming a first in the U.S. On June 12 (2:02 a.m. EDT) Muslim shooter Omar Seddique Mateen (b. 1986) attacks the hot gay Pulse Orlando Nightclub in Orlando, Fla., killing 50 and injuring 53 of 300 before being killed by police, becoming the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history (until ?); he tells police negotiators that his rampage is retaliation for the air strike that killed ISIS leader Abu Wahid; ISIS claims credit, er, responsibility; Pres. Obama calls the mass shooting (#24 since he took office) "an act of terror and an act of hate", blaming the "assault rifle" (e.g., the NRA), and never mentioning radical Islam, causing Donald Trump to call him a "weak" leader who should be impeached, with the soundbyte: "If we do not get tough and smart real fast, we are not going to have a country anymore"- how long can Obama be pro-gay and pro-Muslim at the same time? On June 13 the U.S. Supreme (Roberts) Court rules in U.S. v. Bryant that prior convictions from tribal courts can be used to enhance sentences in federal courts, even if the poor sucker didn't have a lawyer, reversing their decision in Burgett v. Tex. (1967) that it would violate the Sixth Amendment. On June 14 Animal Kingdom debuts on TNT for ? episodes (until ?), based on the 2010 film by David Michod, starring Ellen Barkin as crime family boss Janine "Smurf" Cody. On June 18 Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Mystere Theater on Treasure Island in Las Vegas, Nev.; British man Michael Steven Sandford attempts to grab a police officer's gun and shoot him, and on Sept. 13 is given two years in prison and deportation. On June 19 a suicide bomber in Qamishli, Syria kills three at an event commemorating the 1905 massacre of Assyrian Christians by the Ottomans in 1915. On June 23 the U.S. Supreme (Roberts) Court by 4-4 rules that Pres. Obama's mass amnesty plan shielding 4M from immigration lacks constitutional authority, becoming a big D. On June 23 the Brexit referendum on EU membership sees Britain vote 17.4M (51.89%) to 16.14M (48.11%) to leave the EU, shocking da world. On June 24 British PM (since May 11, 2010) David Cameron resigns, and on July 13 Conservative home secy. (since May 12, 2010) Theresa Mary May (nee Brasier) (1956-) becomes PM of Britain (until June 7, 2019) (2nd female after Margaret Thatcher), becoming the 4th leader of a major world nation or org. incl. Germany, the IMF, and the U.S. Federal Reserve; on July 13 Conservative mayor of London (since May 4, 2008) Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (1964-) becomes foreign affairs minister (until July 9, 2018). On June 26 Iraqi lt. gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi declares Fallujah, Iraq to be "fully liberated" from ISIS. On June 26 Pope Francis utters the soundbyte that Catholics should seek forgiveness from gays for they way they treated them, along with women and child labor. On June 27 the U.S. House Select Committee on Benghazi pub. its final report, failing to find a smoking gun on Hillary Clinton. On June 27 the U.S. Supreme (Roberts) Court rules 5-3 in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt that states cannot place restrictions on the delivery of abortion services that create an undue burden for the woman, becoming the most important abortion case since Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992). On June 28 (night) a suspected ISIS jihadist terrorist attack at Ataturk Airport, the busiest airport in Istanbul, Turkey kills 43 and injures 230; the airport repoens within five hours, vs. 12 days for Brussels. On June 29 former U.S. pres. Bill Clinton meets privately with U.S. atty. gen. Loretta Lynch in an airplane at Sky Harbor Airport in in Phoenix, Ariz., causing a firestorm of controversy about undue influence and witness tampering over the ongoing criminal investigations into his wife Hillary, stinking her and her campaign up while putting Lynch in a corner, causing her to promise to accept FBI recommendations in the email inquiry. On June 30 (a.m.) a Palestinian terrorist repeatedly stabs and kills 13-y.-o. Israeli girl Hallel Yaffa Ariel in her bedroom in Kiryat Arba, West Bank, Israel. On June 30 two Taliban suicide bombers target police cadets and first responders in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing dozens, becoming the 3rd large-scale assault since Apr. On June 30 after a landslide V (16.6M votes) Davao City mayor Rodrigo Roa "Rody" "Digong" Duterte (1945-) (known as The Punisher for his zero tolerance policy for criminals) becomes pres. #16 of the Philippines (until ?). On June 30 U.S. defense secy. Ash Carter announces an end to the ban on open transgenders in the U.S. military, incl. those who are actively transitioning. On June 30 the U.S. nat. debt hits $19.38T, the first tie over $19.3T. In June the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that the Lake Chad humanitarian crisis caused by Boko Haram has displaced 2.6M, with 3.8M facing "severe food shortages". In summer in honor of the U.S. pres. campaign, Budweiser puts the label "America" in place of "Budweiser" on its beer, causing Donald Trump to take credit; meanwhile Spiteful Brewing Co. of Chicago, Ill. introduces Dumb Donald brand beer, Dock Street Brewing of Philly introduces a series of anti-Trump brands incl. Don't Let Your Friends Vote Drumpf, Short-Fingered Stout, and Drumple IPA, and 5 Rabbit Cerveceria of Chicago renames their leftover beer Chinga Tu Pelo (Sp. "Fuck your hair"). In June the Crazy Clown Epidemic begins in the U.S., with numerous sighting of scary evil-looking clowns. In June a huge stash of AK-47 assault rifles belonging to Islamist extremists is found hidden near a mosque in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. In June the U.S. home ownership rate falls to 62.9%, lowest since 1965. In June U.S. unemployment is 4.9% (vs. 4.7% fo May), with the economy adding 287K jobs. In early July after Rev. Evan Mawarire posts a protest video on Facebook against the regime of Robert Mugabe, protests begin in Harare, Zimbabwe, becoming the biggest in a decade, causing the govt. to persecute Mawarire, who flees with his family to the U.S. via South Africa, then attempt a shutdown of all social media. On July 1 (9:20 p.m.) a team of six ISIS suicide bombers at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dakha, Bangladesh take 40 hostages and kill four security personnel, killing torturing and killing 20 incl. by beheading after sparing those who could recite a verse fromt he Quran; on July 7 6-7 more jihadists attack an Eid gathering in Kishoreganj, Bangladesh, killing three incl. two police officers, losing two attackers. On July 2 (a.m.) the FBI questions Hillary Clinton for 3.5 hours over her private email server. On July 2 Donald Trump retweets an anti-Hillary Clinton cartoon displaying the words "Most corrupt candidate ever" on a sheriff's badge, which Hillary supporters immediately claim is a Star of David to deflect attention, snookering even House Speaker Paul Ryan, who calls on Trump to "clean this up"; of course, Hillary isn't even Jewish. On July 2 (night) a suicide truck bombing in the busy Karrada neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq kills 200 and injures 147. On July 3 (a.m.) a massive suicide bombing in C Baghdad, Iraq kills 250, becoming the deadliest since the 2003 invasion. On July 4 a suicide bomber near the U.S. consulate in Jedda, Saudi Arabia injures two security officers; on July 5 three more Saudi cities ae bombed incl. near the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. On July 4 NASA's JUNO spacecraft goes into polar orbit around Jupiter. On July 5 Pres. Obama and Hillary Clinton campaign together for the first time in Charlotte, N.C., calling Hillary's bid a 3rd term for Obama; meanwhile FBI dir. #7 (since Sept. 4, 2013) James Brien "Jim" Comey Jr. (1960-) announces that the FBI recommends no charges against Hillary in their airmail, er, email probe, despite her team being "extremely careless about how it handled her emails", pissing-off Repubs., with House Speaker Paul Ryan uttering the soundbyte that it "defies explanation", calling for the FBI to release the details of its investigations if they want voters to swallow the conclusions, and Donald Trump uttering the soundbyte that this proves that the "system is rigged"; Comey adds the revealing soundbyte: "To be clear, this is not to suggest that in similar circumstances, a person who engaged in this activity would face no consequences. To the contrary, those individuals are often subject to security or administrative sanctions. But that is not what we are deciding now"; Comey has past connections with the Clinton Foundation; meanwhile Romanian hacker Marcel Lazar Lehel AKA Guccifer (1971-), who is being held in jail in Va. for admitting to hacking Hillary's personal email server is rumored to have been found dead in his jail cell, which turns out false; no surprise, on July 6 U.S. atty. gen. Loretta Lynch announces that Hillary and her aides won't be charged with a speck of dust; on July 7 Comey is questioned by House Repubs., uttering the soundbyte that Hillary is not "sophisticated enough" (i.e., is too stupid) to understand that (C) next to a paragraph means that it's classified; meanwhile on July 7 a group of Repub. senators led by Marco Rubio of Fla. petition the U.S. State Dept. to suspend the security clearances of Hillary and her top aides; on July 12 U.S. atty. gen. Loretta Lynch meets with irate House Repubs., and refuses to explain why she let Hillary off the hook, passing the buck to the U.S. Justice Dept. and the FBI; on July 22 the FBI discloses that Hillary exchanged 22 top-secret emails with staff members Jacob Sullivan, Cheryl Mills, and William Burns. On July 5 (12:35 a.m.) after being reported threatening somebody with a gun outside a convenience store, 37-y.-o. black man Alton Sterling (b. 1988), known as CD Man for selling illegal CDs is tackled by two white Baton Route, La. police officers then fatally shot several times at point-black, er, point-blank range, triggering nationwide protests, resulting in a U.S. Dept. of Justice investigation next May, which results in no criminal charges, after which in Mar. 2018 La. atty. gen. Jeff Landry does ditto. On July 5 the Dem. Nat. Committee Server is hacked by hacker Guccifer 2.0, which is used by the Dems. to blame the Russians; later investigation proves it to be an inside job? On July 6 thousands stage a peaceful stay-at-home protest against the ruling Zimbabwean African Nat. Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) in Zimbabwe, with the Twitter hashtag #ZimShutDown2016. On July 6 after citing the Taliban's threat, Pres. Obama announces a slowdown of troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, leaving about 8.5K troops at the end of the year after reducing the current force by 9.8K. On July 6 the 2.6M-word Chilcot Report, chaired by Sir John Chilcot (1939-) is pub., giving the results of the Iraq Inquiry announced on June 15, 2009 by PM Gordon Brown, detailing all the blunders made by the British govt. in the Iraq War in 2003-9 but clearing PM Tony Blair of crimes. On July 6 32-y.-o. black high school nutrition services supervisor Philando Castile (b. 1983) is shot and killed in Falcon Heights (near Saint Paul), Minn. police officer Jeronimo Yanez after being pulled over and asked to produce his license and registration and informing the officer that he had a firearm, shooting 7x first and asking questions later, after which his girlfriend Diamond Reynolds live-streams video of him slumping and moaning on Facebook while the officer does nothing to aid him, after which he dies in Hennepin County Medical Center at 9:37 CDT; after a public outcry that adds to those over Alton Sterling, Yanez is charged with 2nd deg. manslaughter, and acquitted on June 16, 2017. On July 7 after gagging on "Tarmacgate" (coined by Donald Trump), the full U.S. House GOP Conference of 200+ meets with Donald Trump at Repub. Nat. Committee HQ, giving him a chance to push their buttons. On July 7 (9:00 p.m.) amid nationwide Black Lives Matter protests against recent police murders of blacks, hours after Pres. Obama gives a speech on the police shootings in La. and Minn., white police officers in Dallas, Tex. are ambushed by black Nation of Islam member rooftop sniper (U.S. Army Afghanistan vet) Micah Xavier Johnson (b. 1991), who kills five (incl. a transit authority policeman) and injures nine, becoming the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since 9/11, causing Pres. Obama to break off in Warsaw, Poland to condemn the shooters, taking pains to lobby for gun control; three suspects are taken into custody; Johnson is cornered in El Centro College and killed with a bomb robot during negotiations after uttering the soundbyte "I want to kill white people." On July 9 Syrian helis first use 100m explosive-packed explosive hoses in the rebel-held al-Breij neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria. apologizes. On July 10 Dem. Nat. Committee staffer Seth Conrad Rich (b. 1989) is murdered by a gunman as he walks home in Bloomingdale, Washington, D.C.; despite nothing taken, police call it a botched robbery; WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange later implies that he is the source of the damaging emails posted days before the Dem. Nat. Convention; this adds to the recent suspicious deaths of U.N. official John Ashe (June 22), Victor Thorn (Aug. 1), and Shawn Lucas (Aug. 4). On July 10-18 the 2016 African Union (AU) Summit in Kigali, Rwanda unveils the African Union Passport; Morocco, which left the AU in 1984 requests reinstatement and sends a delegation; the AU announces the sending of a new technical team to N Mali to determine how to deploy a U.N. peacekeeper force. On July 11 U.S. Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg gives an interview to the New York Times, dissing Donald Trump and saying that if he were elected "it's time for us to move to New Zealand", causing Trump to demand her resignation for getting involved in politics, after which on July 14 she backs down and On July 12 (9 a.m.) after days of fighting that killed 300+, homeless protesters in a U.N. base in Juba, South Sudan are tear-gassed by U.N. police. On July 12 Bernie Sanders cops-out and endorses Hillary Clinton for U.S. pres. in Portsmouth, N.H., while taking veiled shots at her Wall Street contributions and superdelegates. On July 12 a U.N. tribunal rules that China's claims to sovereignty over the South China Sea violate internat. law, as do its enforcement attempts; too bad, there are no teeth to their ruling. On July 13 Germany pub. a white paper announcing its new policy of using its army to protect its interests abroad, with the goal of "countering security threats... to our free and safe world trade and supply routes." On July 14 (10:30 p.m. local time) after a fireworks show ends and he tells guards he's bringing ice cream to the crowd, 31-y.-o. Tunisian-born Allah Akbar-shouting jihadist Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel (b. 1985) crashes his rented 21-ton truck into the Bastille Day crowd near Neptune Beach in Nice, France, driving at up to 55 mph for more than 1 mi. along a promenade then emerging and firing a gun at random, killing 84 (incl. 10 children) and injuring 100 before being killed by police, causing French pres. Francois Hollande to call it a terrorist attack, with the soundbyte: "Nothing will make us give way in the fight against terrorism... France as a whole is under the threat of Islamic terrorism. We have to demonstrate absolute vigilance and show determination that is unfailing", causing Pres. Obama's Muslim-loving White House to respond that "France and the United States share a commitment to protecting religious liberty for those of all faiths, and today's violence will not shake that committment"; ISIS claims Bouhlel as one of their soldiers; U2 lead singer Bono was next to the seafront on the terrace of La Petite Maison duing the attack; on July 18 French PM Manuel Valls is booed by angry crowds in Nice - when will Pres. Obama blame this truck attack on guns? On July 14 the city council of Pensacola, Fla. bows to PC pressure and allows their meeting to be opened with a Satanic invocation by Satanic Temple priest David Suhor amid hundreds of protesters. On July 14 (eve.) Pres. Obama holds a town hall discussion on Disney Media Networks, defending both the police and Black Lives Matter. On July 15 Donald Trump announces his selection of Ind. Repub. gov. #50 (since 2013) Michael Richard "Mike" Pence (1959-) (Tea Party member who earlier supported Ted Cruz) as his vice-pres. running mate, in hopes that he will bridge the gap with the rest of the Repubs. at the upcoming convention. On July 15 64 U.S. House Repubs. led by U.S. Rep. (R-Tenn.) Marsha Blackburn send a letter to the IRS asking them to investigate the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation for "public corruption", claiming that it is a "lawless pay-to-play enterprise that has been operating under a cloak of philanthropy for years and should be investigated." On July 15 (night) while he is returning to Istanbul from the coastal resort of Marmaris, the secular military in Turkey attempts a coup against the Islamist-leaning civilian govt. of pres. Tayyip Recep Erdogan, becoming the 5th since 1960; no surprise, the Obama admin. supports Erdogan, despite his recent attempts at authoritarianism; by early July 16 the coup crumbles amid pro-Erdogan crowds taking to the street accompanied by pro-Erdogan police, with 190 killed incl. 41 police and two soldiers; Erdogan announces that the coup is the work of exiled secular Muslim leader Fethullah Gulen, and that he intends to punish the U.S. for not extraditing him; on July 16 eight Turkish soldiers in a Blackhawk heli land in Alexandroupolis, Greece seeking asylum, but they are arrested with the intent of repatriating them instead; on July 20 Erdogan declares a state of emergency, going on to remove 60K public employees and jail 10K while stripping journalists and pub. houses of their licenses; the coup was staged by Erdogan to consolidate his dictatorship?; on Sept. 28 the Turkish govt. announces the arrest of 32K for alleged links to Gulen. On July 15 the 28-page Censored Chapter of the 2002 9/11 Report that was suppressed for 13 years is finally released, clearing the Saudi govt. of supporting the 9/11 jihadists; too bad, some sections are still censored. On July 17 (9:40 a.m. EDT) African-Am. former U.S. Marine and Nation of Islam member Gavin Eugene Long (b. 1987) AKA Cosmo Ausar Setepenra of Kansas City, Mo. ambushes policemen 1 mi. from police HQ in Baton Rouge, La., killing three and injuring three before being killed. On July 18 a 17-y.-o. Allah-Akbar-shouting Afghan-born Muslim wielding an axe on a train in Wurzburg, Bavaria, Germany injures 21 before being killed by police. On July 18 Mexican pres. Enrique Pena Nieto signs new laws requiring public servants to disclose their financial assets, interest and tax payments for the first time ever. On July 18-21 the 2016 Repub. Nat. Convention at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio starts out with anti-Trump delegates losing a vote to changing the nominating rules, then yelling and storming out; on July 18 Melana Trump gives a speech to 35M viewers, attempting to humanize her hubby; too bad, it apparently plagiarizes Michelle Obama's speech at the 2008 Dem. Convention, although she is speaking in a foreign language and might be given a pass, and the Trump Campaign denies it, with chmn. Paul Manafort uttering the soundbyte: "These were common words and values - that she cares about her family"; on July 19 Trump is officially nominated by 1700+ delegates, while Hillary Clinton compares the GOP convention to the "surreal" 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz"; on July 19 Muslim imam Muslims for Trump founder Sajid Tarar of Baltimore, Md. delivers the concluding prayer, causing Christian attendee Kim Coley to shout "No Islam"; on July 20 Trump speechwriter Meredith McIver takes blame for the plagiarism, but her offer to resign is rejected; on July 19 Donald Trump Jr. gives a speech praising his dad; too bad, it contains more plagiarism; on July 20 history expert Newt Gingich gives a speech warning that the U.S. is "at war with radical Islamists", with the soundbyte "We are sleepwalking through history"; on July 20 conservative commentator Laura Ingraham gives a speech, challenging former Trump rivals to get over their "wounded feelings and bruised egos" and "honor your pledge to support Donald Trump now, tonight"; Ted Cruz follows with his speech, and is booed when he refuses to endorse Trump and instead urges people to "vote your conscience up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution", reneging on his pledge to support the Repub. nominee, causing the audience to begin chanting "We want Trump!"; Cruz is followed by Mike Pence, who calls himself "a Christian, a Conservative, and a Republican, in that order", and praises Trump as a fellow Conservative; on July 21 Cruz says that it "was not a blanket commitment that if you go and slander and attack Heidi that I'm going to nonetheless come like a servile puppy dog and say thank you very much for maligning my wife and maligning my father", after which on July 22 Trump announces that he will never accept Cruz's endorsement; on July 21 Trump accepts his nomination, giving a record 73-min. speech filled with a long string of promises incl. safety on the street, nat. security, jobs for all, an end to illegal immigration incl. from "compromised" (Muslim) countries et al., coopting Pres. Obama's 2008 change slogan with the soundbyte: "My message is that things have to change, and they have to change right now", along with the soundbytes: "A number of these reforms that I will outline tonight will be opposed by some of our nation's most powerful special interests. That's because these interests have rigged our political and economic system for their exclusive benefit. Believe me — it's for their benefit"; "We cannot afford to be so politically correct anymore", "I am your voice. I have embraced crying mothers who have lost their children because our politicians put their personal agendas before the national good. I have no patience for injustice, no tolerance for government incompetence, no sympathy for leaders who fail their citizens", and "Make America great again." On July 20 the U.S. Treasury Dept. sanctions three high-level al-Qaida operatives living in Iran, incl. Faisal Jassim Mohammed al-Amri Al-Khalidi, Yisra Muhammad Ibrahim Bayumi, and Abu Bakr Muhammad Ghumayn, slipping up and revealing Iranian support for al-Qaida. On July 21 police in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil arrest 10 people after they openly pledge allegiance to ISIS and threaten the upcoming Olympics, and announce a search for two others, becoming the first known ISIS supporters in South Am. On July 21 Gregry Hubbard AKA Jibreel (1963-) is arrested at Miami Internat. Airport in Fla.; on May 16, 2018 he and Dayne Antani Christian AKA Shakur (1984-) and Darren Arness jackson AKA Daoud (1964-) are sentenced to prison for conspiring to provide material support to ISIS. On July 21 two weeks late, lying sack of er, Pres. Obama holds a celebration in honor of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday (end of Ramadan), inviting notorious Islamists from CAIR et al. then turning around and praising LGBT Muslims, uttering the soundbytes: "Muslim-Americans are as patriotic, as integrated, as American as any other members of the American family", and "Whether your family's been here for generations or you're a new arrival, you're an essential part of the fabric of our country", lying that for "centuries" Am. Muslims have helped to build America as farmers, merchants, factory workers, architects, teachers and community leaders, adding "And Muslim Americans have enriched our lives every single day" - this is my party? On July 22 Pres. Obama holds a White House press conference to diss Donald Trump, with the soundbytes: "Some of the fears that were expressed throughout the week just don't jibe with the facts", "The violent crime rate in America has been lower during my presidency than any time during the last three or four decades", "The idea that America is somehow on the verge of collapse, this vision of violence and chaos everywhere, doesn't really jib with the experience of most people", adding that he hopes that fellow Americans wake up and realize that there are "birds chipring... and folks are going to work." On July 21 after allegations by Fox News reporters Gretchen Carlson and Megyn Kelly that he made unwanted sexual advances toward them as long as 10 years earlier, Fox News CEO (since Oct. 7, 1996) Roger Eugene Ailes (1940-) resigns with a $40M golden parachute severance package, and is replaced by Rupert Murdoch; on Sept. 5 Carlson settles her lawsuit with Fox News for $20M; it was all a set-up by Murdoch, who long wanted to get rid of him? On July 22 lone 18-y.-o. Allah-Akbar-shouting Iranian-German gunman Ali David Sonboly (b. 1998), wearing black clothes at a shopping center in Munich, Germany ambushes and kills nine and injures 16 before killing himself, after which authorities claim he's not associated with ISIS; he's really a pro-Turkish Syrian and the Merkel govt. covered it up to avoid political reaction? On July 22 Hillary Clinton announces U.S. Sen. (since 2013) Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine (1958-) (a devout Roman Catholic schooled by Jesuits who loves Pope Francis and opposes abortion but supports Roe v. Wade and same-sex marriage) as her vice-pres. running mate, causing Donald Trump to begin calling him "Corrupt Kaine"; meanwhile on July 22 WikiLeaks pub. 19,252 emails hacked from the Dem. Nat. Committee from hacking group Guccifer 2.0, revealing that they tried to use Bernie Sanders' atheist religious beliefs to derail his pres. campaign, causing DNC chmn. Debbie Wasserman Schultz to cancel her speaking date at the Dem. convention, while Sanders demands her resignation, which she tenders on July 24; meanwhile Clinton's campaign mgr. blames Russian hackers for leaking the emails, but doesn't try to explain why the DNC did it in the first place; on July 25 as the convention is about to convene, Schultz is replaced as convention chmn. by U.S. rep. (D-Ohio) Marcia Fudge, chmn. of the Congressional Black Caucus. On July 23 dual suicide bombings in Dehmazang Square in Kabul, Afghanistan targeting mainly Hazaras kill 80+ and injure 231; ISIS claims responsibility. On July 23 G-20 members meet in Chengdu, China to discuss Brexit and other threats to their precious globalization dream. On July 23 (night) after pledging allegiance to ISIS, 27-y.po. Syrian suicide bomber Mohammad Daleel Rambo, nicknamed Rambo detones outside a music festival in Ansbach (near Nuremberg), Germany, injuring 15. On July 24 Verizon announces that it's acquiring Yahoo's core business for $4.8B. On July 25 a CNN Poll shows Donald Trump leading Hillary Clinton by 44% to 39%, with 68% of Americans saying that Hillary is dishonest and untrustworthy. On July 25-28 the 2016 Dem. Nat. Convention at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Penn. starts out with Bernie Sanders supporters echoing the Repub. Convention with shouts of "Lock her up!", followed on July 25 by Debbie Wasserman Schultz being booed off the stage at a breakfast for the Fla. delegation; on July 25 (eve.) after his supporters disrupt the convention with stubborn determination to nominate him despite all, Bernie Sanders gives a speech, totally selling out to Queen Hillary, telling them to support her, and warning them against supporting Trump, saying that the choice is "not even close"; Michelle Obama gives a speech dissing Trump, with the soundbyte: "Don't let anyone ever tell you that this country isn't great, that somehow we need to make it great again, because this right now is the greatest country on Earth"; Elizabeth Warren gives a speech that tears into Trump, while Bernie supporters heckle and boo her, shouting "We trusted you"; Sanders supporters later complain that their signs were ripped out of their hands and they were threatened with losing their credentials; there are no red-white-blue U.S. flags visible at the convention, but there are Soviet flags?; on July 26 (eve.) after Bernie Sanders officially names her, Hillary is officially nominated as his uncontrollable supporters walk out and storm the media tent, becoming the first woman nominated as U.S. pres. by a major political party, bringing out the female sexists bigtime as she utters the soundbyte "We just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet"; ex-U.S. pres. Bill Clinton gives a glowing speech pushing his wife as a "change-maker"; on July 27 Donald Trump utters the soundbyte that he hopes the Russians "have the 33,000 emails that she lost and deleted", expressing hope that they will release them so that she can be exposed and prosecuted; the Dems. attempt to turn it around by claiming he's calling on the Russians to hack her, with Hillary's senior policy advisor Jake Sullivan uttering the soundbyte: "This has to be the first time that a major presidential candidate has actively encouraged a foreign power to conduct espionage against his political opponent", when if they did it it was long ago, and he's just asking them to give us the booty so she can be prosecuted, not necessarily to interfere in an election; too bad, in June the Internat. Strategic Studies Assoc.'s Defense and Foreign Affairs mag. already pub. a warning that according to "reliable" sources, warnings to that effect had been received fom Moscow; on July 28 Trump flops and claims he was just being satirical; on July 27 (eve.) the Dems. pull out all the stops in their frantic effort to turn the polls around; billionaire Michael Bloomberg gives a speech claiming to be an independent who hates Trump because he's a "dangerous demagogue", with the soundbytes: "The richest thing about Donald Trump is his hypocrisy", "The bottom line is, Trump is a risky, reckless, and radical choice, and we can't afford to make that choice", and "Throughout his career, Trump has left behind a well-documented record of bankruptcies, thousands of lawsuits, angry shareholders and contractors who feel cheated, and disillusioned customers who feel ripped off. Trump says he wants to run the nation like he's run his business. God help us"; Joe Biden gives a speech blasting Trump for his trademark phrase "You're fired!", with the soundbyte: "How can there be pleasure in saying you're fired? He's trying to tell us he cares about the middle class? Give me a break. That's a bunch of malarkey"; Tim Kaine gives a speech, mocking Trump for his phrase "Trust me" while glowingly portraying Hillary as someone he'd trust to protect his son's life, with the soundbyte: "Hillary Clinton is lista (Sp. "ready"); after staying up until 3:00 a.m. to finish polishing it, Pres. Obama gives the final speech, starting with calling the upcoming election "a more fundamental choice of who we are as a people", knocking it out of the park by portraying Trump as a combo P.T. Barnum and Mussolini while portraying Hillary as the most qualified person in history to carry on his legacy, with the soundbytes: "Anyone who threatens our values, whether fascists or communists or jihadis or home-grown demagogues will always fail in the end"; "Our power doesn't come from some self-declared savior promising that he alone can restore order as long as we do things his way. We don't look to be ruled"; "Tonight I ask you to do for Hillary Clinton what you did for me. I ask you to carry her the same way you carried me", "America is already great. America is already strong. And I promise you, our strength, our greatness, does not depend on Donald Trump", "I can say with confidence there has never been a man or a woman - not me, not Bill, nobody - more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States of America", and "My time in this office hasn't fixed everything; as much as we've done, there's still so much I want to do", giving a glowing lecture on how great the U.S. and its Constitution is and how great its future is but messing it up with his love of Muslims, the very people who can ruin it?; as he leaves, Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed and Delivered" plays, beginning: "Like a fool I went and stayed too long"; on July 28 (eve.) after the convention mentions Donald Trump's name 332x in the first three nights, "God" actor Morgan Freeman narrates a highly selective video on her, filled with gushing praise from Bill Clinton and Pres. Obama, and Gen. John Allen blasts Trump for her, neutral white pants suit-wearing Hillary Clinton gives her July 28 (eve.) after the convention mentions Donald Trump's name 332x in the first three nights, "God" actor Morgan Freeman narrates a highly selective video about her, filled with gushing praise from Bill Clinton and Pres. Obama, and Gen. John Allen blasts Trump for her, neutral white pants suit-wearing Hillary Clinton gives her big speech, which turns out to be a rehash of old speeches, calling the upcoming election "a moment of reckoning", blasting Trump as usual as a "little man" who is "moved by fear and pride", adding "A man you can bait with a Tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons"; no surprise, she wants to open the U.S. to mass Muslim immigration, with the soundbyte: "We will not ban a religion", and dismisses Trump's wall with "We will not build a wall" and "We'll build a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants who are already contributing to our economy"; before she speaks a bunch of Bernie Sanders supporters walk out, while others (who had their Bernie signs taken away) stay and display signs made up by changing the Hillary signs to "Liar", "Walk the Walk", "Keep your promises", "Yes we can REVOLT", and "Fighting for HERSELF"; token Muslim Khizr Muazzam Khan, father of fallen Muslim-Am. soldier U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan (KIA in Iraq in 2004) utters the soundbyte: "Donald Trump consistently smears the character of Muslims. He disrespects minorities and women, judges, even his own party leadership. He vows to build walls and ban us from this country. Donald Trump, you're asking us to trust you with our future. Let me ask you, have you even read the United States Constitution?" (he meant the Quran, since he probably can't reach much English and knows that the Quran is the Constitution's archenemy?); the Dems. won't tell people that Khizr Khan has connections with Saudia Rabies, er, Arabia, which has given over $25M to the Hillary campaign, and is a suspected Muslim Brotherhood agent who wants to destroy the U.S. via mass Muslim immigration and replace it with an Islamic republic based on Sharia; later conservative pundit Ann Coulter tweets the soundbyte: "You know what this convention really needed? An angry Muslim with a thick accent like Fareed Zakaria"; Donald Trump immediately slams Hillary, with the soundbytes: "Hillary's refusal to mention radical Islam, as she pushes a 550% increase in refugees, is more proof that she is unfit to lead the country", "[America's] way of life is under threat by fadical Islam and Hillary Clinton cannot even bring herself to say the words", "Hillary's wars have unleashed destruction, terrorism and ISIS across the world", and "[Under her administration there will be] no borders, no jobs, no safety"; Trump senior policy adviser Stephen Miller utters the soundbytes that her speech was "an insulting collection of cliches and recycled rhetoric", "She spent the evening talking down to the American people she's looked down on her whole life", and "Hillary Clinton says America is stronger together. But in Hillary Clinton's America, millions of people are left out in the cold"; on July 31 Trump starts a feud with Khizr Khan, starting with claiming that his wife Ghazala Khan didn't speak at the convention because she's a Muslim, to which she replies that it was because she couldn't handle the grief, and Khizr Khan to utter the soundbyte: "He is a black soul, and this is totally unfit for the leadership of this country", causing Repbs. Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, Kelly Ayotte, Jeb Bush et al. to jump on Trump, who responds that Khizr's speech was probably scripted by the Hillary campaign, and it's not about him anyway, it's about radical Islam, adding: "If I were president Khizr Khan's son wouldn't have died" because Hillary voted for the Iraq War and he was against it; on Aug. 3 Trump meets with six Gold Star families in Jacksonville, Fla. before speaking at a rally of 15K; meanwhile Hillary receives big bucks from billionaire Nigerian Muslim jihadist Kase Lukman Lawal; Humayun Khan was really a Muslim jihadist trying to commit suicide while taking as many U.S. soldiers with him as possible, and they covered it up by making him a hero? On July 26 (9:00 a.m.) two Allah-Akbar-shouting ISIS jihadists attack a French Roman Catholic church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray S of Rouen, Normandy, France during Mass, giving an Arabic sermon from the altar before forcing 84-y.-o. priest Jacques Hamel to kneel at the altar and slitting his throat in an attempt to behead him before being killed by police; one tells a nun "You Christians, you kill us"; one is shot dead by police and the other arrested; ISIS claims responsibility; ex-PM Nicolas Sarkozy utters the soundbyte: "Everything is being done to trigger a war of religions", calling for a "merciless" response. On July 27 after uttering the soundbyte: "This is war. When I speak of war, I speak of real war, not of a war of religion, no. There is war for interests, there is war for money, there is war for the resources of nature, there is war for the domination of peoples: this is war. Someone may think: 'He is talking about a war of religion'. No. All the religions, we want peace. Others want war. Do you understand?" Pope Francis visits the Wawel Cathedral in Cracow, Poland, stinking himself up by totally ignoring the existential threat of Muslim immigration, instead calling for "a spirit of readiness to welcome those fleeing from wars and hunger, and solidarity with those deprived of their fundamental rights, including the right to profess one's faith in freedom and safety"; he then visits Auschwitz Concentration Camp; on Aug. 1 ISIS pub. its mag. Dabiq, dissing the pope for his naivete, assuring him that their sole motivation is religious and sanctioned by Allah in the Quran, with the soundbyte: "The fact is, even if you were to stop bombing us, imprisoning us, torturing us, vilifying us, and usurping our lands, we would continue to hate you because our primary reason for hating you will not cease to exist until you embrace Islam. Even if you were to pay jizyah [tax for infidels] and live under the authority of Islam in humiliation, we would continue to hate you." On July 26 Hafiz Saeed Khan, leader of ISIS in Afghanistan and Pakistan is killed by a U.S. drone strike in Nangarhar Province, E Afghanistan. On July 27 Pres. Clinton appointee Judge Paul L. Friedman makes a decision to release Reagan's attempted murderer John Hinckley Jr. - just in time to assassinate Donald Trump for Hillary? On July 28 after splitting with al-Qaida, the Al Nusrah Front renames itself Jabhat Fath Al Sham ("Conquest of the Levant Front"). On July 28 Bernie Sanders announces that he's quitting the Dem. Party and becoming an independent again. On July 29 a federal appeals court strikes down the 2013 N.C. voter ID law, claiming that it was "passed with racially discriminatory intent". On July 29 Hillary Clinton tours the U.S. Rust Belt, while Donald Trump visits Colo., uttering the soundbyte: "Remember this. Trump is going to be no more Mr. Nice Guy", calling Hillary "the Devil", and for the first time encouraging supporters' chants of "Lock her up", with the soundbyte "You know what? I'm starting to agree with you"; meanwhile the Clinton campaign acknowledges that the DNC hackers also hacked their servers, while the FBI announces an investigation into their "accuracy, nature and scope". In July a heat dome cooks the U.S. South, Midwest, and East Coast with triple-digit temps, affecting 100M people. On July 31 the report From Russia with Money: Hillary Clinton, the Russian Reset, and Cronyism, alleging that Hillary Clinton's campaign chmn. John Podesta sat on the board of a small energy co. along with Russian officials that received $35M from the Russian govt. of Vladimir Putin, and failed to fully disclose it on federal forms. On July 31 a pro-Erdogan rally in Cologne, Germany is attended by 50K; Turkish pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan is prohibited from addressing them via video link, pissing him off and causing him to summon the Geman envoy. On July 31 the pro-Trump Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post pub. a +nude photo of Donald Trump's wife Melania, doing ditto on Aug. 1, causing The Donald to say there is "nothing to be embarrassed about with the pictures - she's a beautiful woman"; too bad, the Daily Mail Online pub. an article suggesting that she once worked as an escort in the sex trade, causing her to sue them on Sept. 2 despite retracting the story. On July 31 ISIS pub. its online mag. Dabiq, containing a photo of U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan's tombstone in Arlington Cemetery, with the caption: "Beware of dying as an apostate", and an article containing the soundbyte: "Strike them where it hurts them most". On July 31 Donald Trump gives an interview to George Stephanopoulos of ABC-TV's This Week, stepping on his own schlong by revealing that he doesn't know that Russia is already in Ukraine because of its absorption of Crimea, with the soundbyte: "Just so you understand, he's not going into Ukraine, all right? You can mark it down and you can put it down, you can take it anywhere you want"; the hue and cry raised by the Dems. is picky because both Russia and Ukraine claim Crimea, but the people voted to join Russia? In July the total number of Islamic attacks since the beginning of the year reaches 1,268 in 50 countries, killing 11,664 and injuring 14,087. In July the U.S.-led coalition campaign against ISIS (begun Aug. 2014) drops its 50,000th bomb on ISIS (at $50K each, total $2.5B). In July U.S. unemployment is 4.9% (same as June), with 255K jobs added to the economy; meanwhile U.S. GDP increases a measly 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, adding to 0.8% in the 1st quarter, vs. 1.4% in 4th quarter 2015. In early Aug. Moon Express is granted approval to send a lunar lander to the Moon, becoming the first private co. On Aug. 1 a Russian Mi-8 transport heli is shot down en route to the coast from Aleppo, Syria, killing all five aboard, becoming the deadliest incident since they entered the Syrian civil war. On Aug. 1 the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security grants an 18-mo. temporary amnesty to 8K Syrians living in the U.S. On Aug. 1 the Pentagon announces that Pres. Obama has authorized new "precision" air strikes against ISIS terrorists in Sirte, Libya. On Aug. 1 Donald Trump attends a rally in Columbus, Ohio, and uttering the soundbyte: "I'm afraid the election's going to be rigged, I have to be honest." On Aug. 1 the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issue an unprecedented warning to pregnant women to avoid a 1 sq. mi. area in Miami, Fla. to avoid Shrinka, er, Zinka-carrying mosquitoes; 12 cases have been diagnosed so far. On Aug. 2 Pres. Obama slams Donald Trump, with the soundbyte: "I think the Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president. I said so last week, and he keeps on proving it. The notion that he would attack a Gold Star family that had made such extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our country, the fact that he doesn't appear to have basic knowledge around critical issues in Europe, in the Middle East, in Asia means that he's woefully unprepared to do this job"; Trump replies that Obama is the worst pres. in U.S. history, a "diasaster" who is himself "unfit to serve"; meanwhile retiring U.S. Rep. (R-N.Y.) Richard Hanna announces that he plans on crossing party lines and voting for Hillary Clinton in Nov., becoming the first; on Aug. 3 Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman announces that despite being a Repub. she's supporting Hillary Clinton. On Aug. 2 the Vatican announces that Pope Francis has set up a commission to study the possibility of allowing women to become deacons; becoming priests that can celebrate Mass is not on the table. On Aug. 3 the FBI announces that Washington, D.C.-area transit police officer Nicholas Young (1980-) of Fairfax, Va. has been charged with attempting to support ISIS, becoming the first U.S. law enforcement officer to be charged with a terror-related crime. On Aug. 3 ISIS announces Boko Haram founder Muhammad Yusuf's son Abu Musab al-Barnawi as the new head of Boko Haram, pissing-off long-time leader Abubaker Shekau, who won't relinquish his position - they closed the barn door after the horse was out? On Aug. 3 the Wall Street Journal pub. an article exposing the $400M unmarked bills cash payment made by the Obama admin. to Iran in Jan., a repayment of bank funds frozen since 1979, causing a firestorm of controversy and calls for a congressional investigation, causing Pres. Obama on Aug. 4 (his 55th birthday) to call the story "manufactured", saying "This wasn't some nefarious deal", to which Mike Pence replies on Aug. 5 that the whole world knows that it was a "ransom"; on Aug. 4 Saeed Abedini, one of the four hostages released in Jan. gives an interview to Trish Regan of Fox Business Network, saying that his captors held his plane for hours waiting for another plane to arrive first; later it is revealed that $900M more is shipped to Iran for interest on the $400M; meanwhile on Aug. 4 Donald Trump stinks himself up with a claim that he saw a top-secret video of an airplane delivering the cash to Iran, which on Aug. 5 he backtracks on, admitting that it was the hostage plane in Geneva, Switzerland. On Aug. 3 Pres. Obama commutes the sentences of 214 federal inmates, becoming the most by a U.S. pres. in a single day, and the most for a single presidency in 48 years. On Aug. 3 (10:30 p.m.) 19-y.-o. Somalia descent Muslim Zakaria "Zak" Bulhan from (initially described as a white chubby man from Norway) attacks people with a knife in C London, England, killing one and injuring five. On Aug. 4 Australia enacts anti-hate speech laws, incl. criticism of Islam - Australiastan is coming soon? On Aug. 4 Pres. Obama brazenly lies about Israel during a press conference, claiming that they support his nuke deal with Iran, and that "it's the assessment of the Israeli military and intelligence community... that acknowledges this has been a game-changer", causing Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Aug. 5 to say that "Israel's view on the Iran deal remains unchanged", i.e., that it another Munich Pact of 1938. On Aug. 4 World Vision dir. Mohammed el-Halabi is indicted by Israel for stealing $7.2M/year for five years from the charity and and giving it to Hamas. On Aug. 4 Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza gives an interview to Bloomberg, with the soundbyte: "The Clintons use black people for votes, but then don't do anyting for black communities after they're elected. They just use us for photo ops." On Aug. 5 former CIA acting dir. Michael Morell endorses Hillary Clinton, calling Donald Trump a "threat to our national security", with the explanation that he is an "unwitting agent of the Russian Federation" because Vladimir Putin has been complimenting him, leading him to become friendly with Russia, and hence their dupe? On Aug. 5 after punishing them for a week by stalling, Donald Trump finally endorses Paul Ryan and John McCain, who already endorsed him but slammed him on several occasions esp. over Khizr Khan and his family. On Aug. 5-21 the 2016 (XXXI) (31st) Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (first South Am. city and Portuguese-speaking country to host them) (first in Latin Am. since 1968) (first since 2000 held in the Southern Hemisphere) (first during the host country's winter season) sees 10,500 athletes from 207 countries participate in 306 events in 28 sports; first time for Kosovo and South Sudan, rugby sevens, and golf; first with a refugee team; golf (last staged in 1904) is restored; in Nov. 2015 Russia's track & field team was provisionally suspended for its doping program, which on July 18 is found to be a "state-dictated" system, and on July 30 the IOC establishes a 3-judge panel to clear individual athletes, clearing 270 of 437; the U.S. wins the most gold medals (46), followed by Britain (27), China (26), Russia (19), Germany (17), and Japan (12); Maplewood, N.J.-born African-Am. fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad (1985-) becomes the first Am. to compete in the Olympics while wearing a hijab; Kathleen Genevieve "Katie" Ledecky (1997-) wins gold in the 400m freestyle, beating the field by 5 sec. in setting a world record time of 3:56:46; she follows with golds in the 200m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle; on Aug. 11 Simone Arianne Biles (1997-) wins a gold for individual all-around on Aug. 11; on Aug. 11 Simone Ashley Manuel (1996-) wins a silver in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay, and ties for a gold medal in the 100m freestyle with Penny Oleksiak of Canada, becoming the first African-Am. woman to win an Olympic swimming medal; the last Olympic swimming medal for a black woman was Enith Brigitha of the Netherlands in 1976 (bronze); Michael Fred "Mike" Phelps II (1985-) is chosen to be the flag bearer at the Parade of Nations, and goes on to up his gold medal total from 19 to 23, breaking the 2,168-y.-o. record of Leonidas of Rhodes with his 13th individual gold medal on Aug. 11 in the 200m individual medly; too bad, on Aug. 12 he has to settle for a silver in the 100m butterfly, sharing it with Chad le Clos and Laszlo Cseh, with the gold going to Joseph Schooling of Singapore; his visible purple cupping marks cause Arabs to claim it as Islamic in origin; on Aug. 12 Egyptian judoka Islam El Shahaby snubs Israeli judoka Or Sasson after losing a match to him, shabbily refusing to shake hands, causing the Egyptian Olympic Committee to apologize; on Aug. 12 the U.S. women's soccer team is eliminated in a penalty kickoff shootout by Sweden, becoming the first Olympics in which they don't win a gold or silver medal since 1992; on Aug. 24 after she calls the Swedish team "cowards", U.S. player Hope Soli is given a 6-mo. suspension by the IOC for violation of their PC standards; on Aug. 15 Shaunae Miller (1994-) of Bahamas takes a dive across the finishing line, beating Allyson Felix of the U.S. by 0.07 sec to win the gold medal in the 400m run; on Aug. 16 after Nikki Hamblin of New Zealand and Abbey D'Agostino both fall during a women's 500m race heat, they help each other up, later receiving a Fair Play Award; on Aug. 21 the men's marathon is won by Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya in 2:08:44; 2nd place goes to Feyisa Lilesa (1990-) of Ethiopia, who makes a sign of protest by crossing his arms over his head, causing fears that he will be killed if he returns. On Aug. 6 an Allah Akbar-shouting Muslim with a machete attacks two female police officers in front of the police station in Charleroi, Belgium, failing to please Allah by killing any infidels before police shoot and kill him. On Aug. 6-7 (weekend) anti-govt. protests in Ethiopia over unequal distribution of wealth are quashed by security forces, who kill 90 demonstrators in the Oromia region around Addis Ababa and the Amhara region in the NW. On Aug. 6-7 (weekend) Iran executes nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri for alleged spying for the U.S., becoming the first casualty of Hillary Clinton's server when at least one email calls him "our friend"? On Aug. 7 Vanessa Teresa Marcotte (b. 1989) is sexually assaulted and murdered while jogging in Princeton, Mass.; on Apr. 15, 2017 after his SUV is spotted, 31-y.-o. Angelo Colon-Ortiz of Worcester, Mass. is arrested, and a DNA match is confirmed. On Aug. 8 Donald Trump delivers his Speech on the Economy in Detroit, Mich., calling for an end to the death tax and unfair trade deals, a moratorium on new financial regulations, and a 15% cap on business income taxes to combat globalization and restore blue collar and manufacturing jobs, with the soundbytes: "Americanization, not globalization, will be our new credo", and "In short, the city of Detroit is the living, breathing example of my opponent's failed economic agenda. Every policy that has failed this city, and so many others, is a policy supported by Hillary Clinton." On Aug. 8 50 Repub. nat. security officials incl. Michael V. Hayden, Robert Zoellick, Michael Chertoff, and Tom Ridge pub. an open letter disowning Donald Trump, with the soundbyte that he "would be the most reckless President in American history"; Trump replies that they "are nothing more than the failed Washington elite looking to hold onto their power, and it's time they are held accountable for their actions", adding: "These insiders, along with Hillary Clinton are the owners of the disastrous decisions to invade Iraq, allow Americans to die in Benghazi, and they are the ones who allowed the rise of ISIS. Yet despite these failures, they think they are entitled to use their favor trading to land taxpayer-funded government contracts and speaking fees"; meanwhile U.S. Sen. (R-Maine) Susan Collins announces that she no longer supports him, with the soundbyte: "With the passage of time, I have become increasingly dismayed by his constant stream of cruel comments and his inability to admit error or apologize." On Aug. 8 Seddique Mateen, father of Orlando jihadist Omar Mateen is seen seated directly behind Hillary Clinton at her speech in Kissimmee, Fla., pissing-off victims' families. On Aug. 8 after the 3-mo. ceasefire collapses, the Pentagon announces an additional $1.15B in weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, which resumes its bombing of Sa'ana, Yemen, making $20B in weapons sold since Mar. 2015, 7K killed, and 21M in need of humanitarian assistance. On Aug. 9 Hezbollah releases a video showing it using an attack drone to drop cluster bombs on a village in Syria, becoming their first time. On Aug. 9 Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Wilmington, N.C., uttering the soundbyte about Hillary: "Hillary wants to abolish, esentially abolish the Second Amendment. By the way, and if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks, although, the Second Amendment people, maybe, there is, I don't know, but, but I'll tell you what. That will be a horrible day. If Hillary gets to put her judges, right now, we're tied", causing the desperate outrageously biased PC media to attempt to frame him on calling for Hillary to be assassinated, incl. a false report by CNN that the Secret Service warned him that he is threatening Hillary's safety; meanwhile the PC press whips-up the fearmongering, with actor-dir. Rob Reiner uttering the soundbyte that Trump's comments are dangerous because his followers have a "violent nature", CBS discredited journalist Dan Rather uttering the soundbyte that PC media must publicly shame Trump's supporters, and Ronald Reagan's daughter Patti Davis uttering the soundbyte: "Your glib and horrifying comment about 'Second Amendment people'... was heard by the person sitting alone in a room, locked in his own dark fantasies, who sees unbridled violence as a way to make his mark in the world, and is just looking for ideas. Yes, Mr. Trump, words matter." On Aug. 10 Donald Trump gives a speech at a rally in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., claiming that Pres. Obama was the founder of ISIS, and Hillary Clinton a co-founder; on Aug. 11 he doubles down, with the soundbyte: "He [Obama] gets the Most Valuable Player Award. Him and Hillary. She gets it too"; the Dems. respond that the Iraq War created ISIS, even though Hillary voted for it; after the usual PC firestorm, he tweets the soundbyte: "They don't get sarcasm?" On Aug. 10 the Muslim Waqf religious authority announces plans to build a baseball stadium on the N end of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem "for the glory of Allah". On Aug. 10 a Repub. House task force pub. a report claiming that the U.S. Central Command doctored reports on progress against ISIS in Syria and Iraq to make a rosier picture, but stops short of blaming the White House. On Aug. 10 (p.m.) 19-y.-o. Stephen Rogata from Va. scales Trump Tower in Manhattan, N.Y. using suction cups before police arrest him; the purpose he did it was to get Trump's attention for a "private audience" to "discuss an important matter". On Aug. 10 a new batch of emails from the Clinton era is released, by Judicial Watch, revealing that U.S. State Dept. aides were asked to do favors for people important to the Clinton Foundation, incl. Clinton Foundation advisor Doug Band urging Hillary aides Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills to arrange a meeting between Nigerian-born Lebanese billionaire donor Gilbert Chagoury and career diplomat Jeff Feltman, their "substance person" in Beirut. On Aug. 11 pres. elections in Zambia. On Aug. 11 Hillary Clinton gives her Economic Plan Speech in Warren, Mich., flopping on her support of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and promising to stop any trade deal that kills U.S. jobs, and promising to "ramp up enforcement" by appointing a chief trade prosecutor, with the soundbyte: "Investments at home that would make us more competitive have been completely blocked in Congress, and American workers and communities have paid the price, but the answer is not to rant and rave or cut ourselves off from the world. That would end up killing even more jobs." On Aug. 11 reports surface claiming that the Obama admin. stopped the FBI 3x from investigating the Clinton Foundation and Hillary Clinton for corruption, causing Trump spokesman Jason Miller to utter the soundbyte: "This latest refusal to allow even a cursory investigation into the Clinton Foundation's pay-for-play dealings smacks of political favoritism. This is exactly why the American public has lost trust in the U.S. government and is ready to elect an outsider like Donald Trump." On Aug. 12 Manbij, Syria is liberated from ISIS after two years, causing women to rip off their burqas and smoke cigs, while men cut their beards and flash peace signs; a large convoy of ISIS fighters is given safe passage because they are holding civilians. On Aug. 12 Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif makes a surprise visit to Turkey, becoming the first since the failed July 15. On Aug. 12 Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine release their 2015 tax returns, taunting Donald Trump to do ditto; too bad, Hillary's returns merely report speaking fees that are really payoffs, while she hides the texts of the speeches as hard as Trump does his tax returns? On Aug. 13 27-y.-o. Swiss Muslim man attacks passengers with a knife and burning liquid on a crowded Swiss train in Salez, Switzerland, killing a 34-y-o. woman and injuring a 17-y.-o. girl and 6-y.-o. girl before dying of his wounds. On Aug. 13-14 (night) racial riots in Milwaukee, Wisc. are sparked by a police shooting in Sherman Park of 23-y.-o. black male Sylville Smith with a "lengthy arrest record", who ran from police and refused to drop his gun; the riots end after a 10 p.m. curfew is imposed after eight police officers and one citizen are injured, and a dozen arrested; on Aug. 16 Donald Trump gives a speech in nearby West Bend, Wisc., blaming Hillary Clinton for holding back black neighborhoods as part of her "rigged system", with the soundbytes: "We reject bigotry of Hillary Clinton which panders to and talks down to communities of color and sees them only as votes... not as individual human beings worthy of a better future... The African-American community has been taken for granted for decades by the Democratic Party and look how they're doing"; "The problem in our minority communities is not that there is too much police but that there is not enough police", and "The political class that Mrs. Clinton has been a part of for 30 years has abandoned the people of this county. They only care about themselves. I am going to give the people their voice back." On Aug. 15 the Obama admin. announces the transfer of 15 detainees from Gitmo to UAE, pissing-off Donald Trump and Repubs. incl. U.S. Rep. (R-Tex.) Michael McFaul and U.S. Sen. (R-Fla.) Marco Rubio; the Gitmo pop. has slid from 242 in 2009 to 61. On Aug. 15 U.S. vice-pres. Joe Biden campaigns with Hillary Clinton in his hometown of Scranton, Penn., blasting Trump as intellectually and temperamentally unfit to be U.S. pres., with the soundbyte: "And I can say without hesitation, my word as a Biden, no major party nominee in the history of the United States of America, has... known less or been less prepared to deal with our national security than Donald Trump", adding "Look, Trump's ideas are not only profoundly wrong, they're very dangerous and they're very un-American. You know, they reveal a profound ignorance of our Constitution. It's a recipe for playing into the hands of terrorists and their propaganda", dissing him for claiming that Pres. Obama is the true founder of ISIS, attempted to turn it inside out and backwards with the soundbyte; "If my son were still in Iraq, and I say to all those who are there, the threat to their life has gone up a couple clicks." On Aug. 15 Donald Trump gives a speech in Youngstown, Ohio, calling for an ideological war against radical Islam a la Communism, and outlining his Muslim Vetting Plan, which incl. "extreme vetting" of anybody from terrorist hotbeds trying to enter the U.S., rooting out those who don't share and respect American values, incl. those who support Sharia. On Aug. 16 Turkish PM Binali Yildrim announces a surprise preliminary agreement between Turkey and Iran for basic principles of a settlement of the Syrian conflict, incl. preserving Syrian's territorial integrity and establishing a govt. that represents all ethnicities and religions. On Aug. 17 a photographer takes a photo of injured ash-covered boy Omran Daqneesh (2011-) in Qaterji, Alepoo, Syia, which becomes an icon of the war. On Aug. 17 Donald Trump apppoints Kellyanne Elizabeth Conway (nee Fitzpatrick) (1967-) as his pres. campaign mgr., and Breitbart News chmn. Stephen K. Bannon (1953-) as exec. campaign chmn., outranking campaign chmn. Paul Manafort, who has been accused of hanky-panky with Ukraine, and resigns on Aug. 19; meanwhile Trump receives his first official U.S. govt. intel briefing, even though Trump disses them, saying "Very easy to use them, but I won't use them, because they've made such bad decisions." On Aug. 18 the Arab Forum for Combatting Terrorism in Khartoum, Sudan, hosted by the Arab League and govt. of Sudan is yet another fraud touting "true" Islam as a religion of peace. On Aug. 18 after Pres. Obama refuses to cut short his 2-week vacation in Martha's Vineyard to visit the scene of the La. flood, Homeland Security sec. Jeh Johnson utters the soundbyte: "The president can't be everywhere"; on Aug. 16 Obama's Justice Dept. issued a guidance memo telling La. officials receiving federal disaster assistance not to engage in "unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin (including limited English proficiency)", pissing them off; meanwhile on Aug. 19 Donald Trump and Mike Pence visit Baton Rouge, La., while Hillary rests. On Aug. 18 U.S. deputy atty. gen. Sally Q. Hates, er, Yates issues a memo instructing the head of the federal Bureau of Prisons to begin phasing-out privately run prisons, which currently hold 22,660 federal inmates out of 2.2M. On Aug. 18 after news that it may have been hacked, plus the expose in Peter Schweizer's NYT bestseller "Clinton Cash", the Clinton Foundation announces that it will no longer accept foreign and corporate donations, but only after winning the election, followed on Aug. 22 by Bill Clinton announcing that if Hillary wins the election he will resign from the board and stop raising funds, causing Donald Trump on Aug. 22 to call for the foundation to be shut down, for the money to be returned, and for a special prosecutor to be appointed, with the soundbyte: "It is now clear that the Clinton Foundation is the most corrupt enterprise in political history"; on Aug. 21 the leftist "Huffington Post" also calls for it to be shut down - she won't give any back? On Aug. 18 Donald Trump gives a speech in Charlotte, N.C., uttering the soundbyte: "Hillary Clinton's mistakes destroy innocent lives, sacrifice national security, and betray the working families of this country. Please remember this: I will never put personal profit before national security. I will never leave our border open to appease donors and special interests. I will never support a trade deal that kills American jobs. I will never put the special interests before the national interest. I will never put a donor before a voter, or a lobbyist before a citizen. Instead, I will be a champion for the people"; meanwhile to counter Trump's accusation that she's "against the police", Hillary Clinton meets with U.S. police chiefs in a closed meeting in John Jay College in New York City. On Aug. 19 after Hillary has spent $100M+ in TV ads attempting to scaremonger him, Donald Trump releases his first TV ad, dissing Hillary Clinton as as an open borders establishment disaster, with the soundbyte: "In Hillary Clinton's America the system stays rigged against America"; meanwhile Trump apologizes for everything without being specific, with the soundbyte: "Sometimes, in the heat of debate, and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don't choose the right words or you say the wrong thing. I have done that, and believe it or not I regret it, and I do regret it, particularly where it may have caused personal pain." On Aug. 19 (night) Donald Trump speaks at a rally in lily-white Dimondale, Mich., uttering the soundbyte: "Tonight I'm asking for the vote of every single African-American citizen in this country who wants to see a better future", adding: "What do you have to lose by trying something new, like Trump? You're living in your poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58 percent of your youth is unemployed - what the hell do you have to lose?", claiming that in cities like Detroit, blacks "have become refugees in their own country", predicting: "At the end of four years, I guarantee you that I will get over 95 percent of the African-American vote"; the Clinton campaign replies: "This is so ignorant it's staggering". On Aug. 21 (Sun.) a 12-y.-o. jihadist boy detonates a suicide belt at a Kurdish wedding in Kirkuk, Iraq, killing 51 and injuring 69, after which shouting crowds blame Turkish pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who blames it on ISIS. On Aug. 21 Palestinian terrorists in Beit Hanun, Gaza Strip fire a rocket at Sderot, Israel (no injuries), causing them to stage a retaliatory air and ground strike. On Aug. 21 the govt. of Germany announces that for the first time since the end of the Cold War, citizens need to stockpile food and water in case of an attack or catastrophe. On Aug. 22-23 (night) Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyr Brigades official Ahmad Halawa is arrested and beaten to death by Palestinian Authority (PA) forces in Nablus, West Bank, Israel for being the brains behind the killing of two PA personnel on Aug. 20. On Aug. 23 four Islamic Rev. Guard Corps (IRGC) vessels harass USS Nitze near the Strait of Hormuz, coming within 300 yards and firing rockets. On Aug. 23 the U.S. Nat. Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rules that as employees of the univ., graduate students can unionize - you sell sperm too? On Aug. 23 Donald Trump announces that he's open to "softening" his stance on deportation of illegal immigrants, but still plans to build a border wall "almost immediately" after inauguration. On Aug. 23 U.S. vice-pres. Joe Biden visits Riga, Latvia, telling leaders of three Baltic states that the U.S. is committed to NATO and its allies, and that Donald Trump doesn't know what he's talking about. On Aug. 23 U.S. vice-pres. Joe Biden gives an interview to The Atlantic, uttering the soundbyte: "Terrorism is a real threat... it's not an existential threat to the existence of the United States of America." On Aug. 23 Hillary Clinton gives a speech, slamming Donald Trump's campaign as a haven for racism and bigotry, with the soundbytes: "A man with a long history of racial discrimination who traffics in dark conspiracy theories from the pages of supermarket tabloids and the far, dark reaches of the internet should never run our government or command our military", and "There's always been a paranoid fringe in our politics, a lot of it arising from racial resentment. But it's never had the nominee of a major party stoking it, encouraging it and giving it a national megaphone until now"; meanwhile on Aug. 23 after telling Sean Hannity of Fox News that he is open to "softening" his immigration stance, Donald Trump gives a speech in Austin, Tex., doubling down instead, with the soundbyte: "No citizenship. Let me go a step further. They'll pay back taxes, they have to pay taxes, there's no amnesty, as such, there's no amnesty, but we work with them. Now, everybody agrees we get the bad ones out," Trump said. "But when I go through and I meet thousands and thousands of people on this subject, and I've had very strong people come up to me, really great, great people come up to me, and they've said, 'Mr. Trump, I love you, but to take a person who's been here for 15 or 20 years and throw them and their family out, it's so tough, Mr. Trump,' I have it all the time! It's a very, very hard thing"; on Aug. 24 he speaks in Tampa, Fla., uttering the soundbyte: "I've been watching so carefully over the past month. Hillary Clinton doesn't do speeches, she doesn't do press conferences. It's been almost 300 days. She doesn't do rallies of any consequence. She doesn't do this kind of stuff"; he goes on to label Hillary Clinton a "bigot", with the soundbyte: "Hillary Clinton is a bigot who sees people of color only as votes, not as human beings worthy of a better future", pissing-off the PC media. On Aug. 24 (early a.m.) for the first time since the start of the Syrian civil war, Turkish forces launch Operation Euphrates Shield, crossing the Syrian border to attack ISIS, with backing from the U.S., shelling Jarablus on the border on the Euphrates River; too bad, they seem more interested in attacking the Kurdish YPG? On Aug. 24 a 6.0 earthquake in C Italy kills 268+ and leaves thousands homeless, flattening several towns. On Aug. 24 (6:30 p.m.) the Taliban sieges Am. U. of Afghanistan in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing one student and injuring 14 before Afghan special forces take them out. On Aug. 24 Hollyweird actor Steven Seagal visits Minsk, Belarus, and meets with pres. Alexander Lukashenko, who gives him a peeled carrot and two watermelons. On Aug. 24 (eve.) the Colombian govt. and the Rev. Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) announce an accord to end their 50-year war that has killed 220K; it must still be ratified by voters in a plebiscite. On Aug. 24 Pres. Obama bypasses Congress to create the 87.5K-acre Katahdin Woods and Waters Nat. Monument in Maine, pissing-off Repubs. On Aug. 24 after AP reports that more than half of 154 people who met with her had given to her foundation, Hillary Clinton gives an interview to CNN, saying that the alleged Clinton Foundation scandal is "a lot of smoke and there's no fire", with the soundbyte: "I made policy decisions based on what I thought was right, to keep Americans safe and protect U.S. interests abroad." On Aug. 25 a barrel bomb attack in Aleppo, Syria kills 15 incl. 11 children; Assad's forces are blamed. On Aug. 25 U.S. vice-pres. Joe Biden visits Ankara, Turkey to repair relations that were strained by the July 15 coup attempt. On Aug. 25 Trump speaks in Manchester, N.H., calling Hillary's attempts to "play the race card" and paint him and his supporters as racists smacks of desperation in an attempt to distract vobers from her policies that have devastated minority communities and inner cities, with the soundbyte: "It's the oldest play in the Democratic playbook. When Democratic policies fail, they are left with only this one tired argument: 'You're racists, you're racist, you're racists.' It's a tired, disgusting argument, and it is so totally predictable... You know what? The people are becoming very smart. They have heard it too many times before. The well is dry"; he goes on to diss leftists for calling people concerned about radical Islam "Islamophobes", with the soundbyte: "They are decent Americans citizens who want to uphold our value as a tolerant society and who want to keep the terrorists the hell out of our country. If the choice is between saving lives or appeasing politically correct censors in Washington, D.C., that is the easiest choice you or I will ever have to make. We will always choose saving American lives." On Aug. 25 Hillary Clinton speaks in Reno, Nev., giving a "tin foil hat" speech accusing the "Alt-Right", Alex Jones, Brexit, and Vladimir Putin of a grand global conspiracy against her, while trying to frame Donald Trump on being the conspiracy theorist and of being linked with the KKK; meanwhile so far this mo. she has held only 11 campaign events attended by 10K total (incl. paid staffers) (avg. 900), vs. 29 events and 168K (avg. 5.8K) for Trump. On Aug. 26 rebel forces pull out of the Damascus suburb of Daraya, Syria under an agreement with the Assad govt., evacuating to rebel-held territory in Idlib Province 200 mi. to the N; meanwhile U.S. secy. of state John Kerry meets with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, unsuccessfully trying to negotiate terms for cessation of hostilities. On Aug. 26 ISIS releases a video from Raqqa, Syria showing the executions of 14 men, incl. five Kurds by boy soldiers. On Aug. 26 Pres. Obama announces an expansion of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine Reserve in Hawaii (created on June 15, 2006 by Pres. George W. Bush to protect the area from commercial fishing) to 583K acres, becoming 2x the size of Tex. and bigger than all other nat. parks combined; 60% of federal waters off Hawaii are now closed to commercial fishing; on Sept. 1 Obama visits it en route to attend the G-20 Summit in China. On Aug. 28 (Sun.) Pres. Obama's 2008 pres. campaign architect David Plouffe gives an interview to Chuck Todd of NBC-TV's "Meet the Press", uttering the soundbyte about Donald Trump: "We have a psychopath running for president"; when asked if he's a prof. pshrink he replies: "Listen, the grandiose notion of self-worth, pathological lying, lack of empathy and remorse... I don't have a degree in psychology, but here it is, Chuck, basically, the race ends today. I think Hillary Clinton is guaranteed at least 269 electoral votes, think about that. Because Virginia and Colorado, both campaigns I think believe are put away." On Aug. 28 the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Gardan in Manhattan, N.Y., watched by 6.5M viewers sees Beyonce ("Queen Bey") (11 nominations) win eight awards to pass Madonna's 20 for a career 24; Adele's "Hello" was the most nominated video (seven categories); Britney Spears makes her first show performance since 2007. On Aug. 29 the Uqba bin Nafi Battalion of al-Qaida in the Maghreb (AQIM) in Tunisia ambushes Tunisian soldiers near Mount Sammama in Kasserine, becoming the 2nd in 2 mos. On Aug. 29 Pentagon spokesperson Peter Cook condemns the fighting S of Jarabulus, Syria, saying that clashes between Turkish forces and U.S.-led Kurdish forces are "unacceptable". On Aug. 30 U.S. secy. of state John Kerry visits New Delhi, India, uttering the soundbyte that in recent months Pakistan has been acting "authoritatively" against Haqqani Network strongholds despite the Pentagon's withholding of $300M in military reimbursement funds in July for not taking sufficient action. On Aug. 30 Pres. Obama commutes the sentences of 111 convicts, bringing his total to 673, more than the last 10 U.S. presidents combined. On Aug. 30 the European Commission announces that Apple cheated Ireland out of taxes, paying 50 euros for every 1M euros in profit in 2014, and orders it to pay it $14.5B in back taxes. On Aug. 31 the first commercial flights since 1961 take off from the U.S. to Cuba, starting with JetBlue Flight 387 from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. to Santa Clara, home of Che Guevara's tomb. On Aug. 31 Donald Trump meets with Mexican pres. Enrique Pena Nieto in Mexico City, using the photo opp to look presidential while arguing that NAFTA has benefitted Mexico more than the U.S., with the soundbytes: "There will be no amnesty. For those here today illeglly who are seeking legal status, they will have one route and only one route: to return home and apply for reentry under the rules of the new legal immigration system that I have outlined... Those who have left to seek entry under this new system will not be awarded surplus visas, but will have to enter under the immigration caps or limits that will be established"; "Having a secure border is a sovereign right and mutually beneficial. We recognize and respect the right of either country to build a physical barrier or wall on any of its borders to stop the illegal movement of people, drugs and weapons"; Nieto acknowledges the "fundamental right that each of the countries has to defend its border", with the soundbyte: “There is still a joint challenge including the increasing number of non-Mexicans who cross through our country in order to reach the United States, therein creating serious human crises"; this show upstages Hillary Clinton, who calls it "an embarrassing international incident", then admidst mucho empty seats gives a Speech on American Exceptionalism at the Am. Legion Nat. Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, unsuccesfully trying to steal the thunder from Donald Trump, who leads the poll among military families 51%-41% according to NBC News, with the soundbyte: "The United States is an exceptional nation. I believe we are still Lincoln's last, best hope of Earth. My opponent in this race has said very clearly he thinks American exceptionalism is insulting to the rest of the world. My opponent misses something important. When we say America is exceptional, it doesn't mean that people from other places don't feel deep national pride just like we do. It means we recognize America's unique and unparalleled ability to be a force for peace and progress, a champion for freedom and opportunity"; in the eve. Trump gives a Speech on Immigration in Phoenix, Ariz., praising the majority of the Mexican people but sticking with his border wall using the "best technology" and the promise to make Mexico pay for it "100 percent - they don't know it yet but they're going to pay for the wall", along with "zero tolerance for criminal aliens... My first hour in office, those people are gone"; "Anyone who tells you that the core issue is the needs of those living here illegally has simply spent too much time living in Washington. There is only one core issue in the immigration debate, and that issue is the well-being of the American people." On Aug. 31 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gives an interview to the New York Times, uttering the soundbyte: "The American liberal press, in falling over themselves to defend Hillary Clinton, are erecting a demon that is going to put nooses around everyone's necks as soon as she wins the election, which is almost certainly what she's going to do." On Aug. 31 Turkey announces that it will not stop attacking U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia inside Syria, calling them an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which they consider a terrorist org. On Aug. 31 the U.S. nat. debt hits $19.5T for the first time ever, just 7 mo. after hitting the $19T mark. In Aug. despite Congress rejecting the idea, Pres. Obama's Veteran Affairs Dept. bans the flying of Confed. flags from fixed flagpoles at its cemeteries. In Aug. Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan appoints retired brig. gen. Adnan Tanriverdi as his chief pres. adviser; he is the founder of the SADAT Internat. Defense Consultancy, which is suspected of training ISIS terrorists. In Aug. U.S. unemployment is 4.9% (same as in June and July), adding 151K jobs; fior the first time govt. workers outnumber manufacturing employees (22,213,000 vs. 12,281,000) (9,932,000 difference). On Sept. 1 a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Facebook satellite intended to bring the Internet to remote areas in Africa explodes on the launch pad during fueling. On Sept. 1 British Airways ends its Oct. 2012 service suspension on flights to Iran, resuming direct flights. On Sept. 1 a ring of fire solar eclipse sees the Moon line up with the Earth and Sun above Africa, darkening the Sun. On Sept. 2 (1:30 a.m. EDT) Category 1 Hurricane Hermine becomes the first hurricane to hit Fla. since Hurricane Katrina in 2004. On Sept. 2 (night) an explosion in a market in Davao, Philippines kills 10 and injures 60; the Muslim Abu Sayyaf jihadist group is suspected. On Sept. 3 (7:02 a.m.) a 5.6 earthquake rocks Norman, Okla. (same region as the Nov. 2011 earthquake), speading from Neb. to N Tex. On Sept. 3 Donald Trump speaks at the mostly black Great Faith Ministries Internat. church in Detroit, Mich., promising to unite the country as U.S. pres., uttering the soundbyte: "Becoming the nominee of the party of Abraham Lincoln... has been the greatest honor of my life. It is on his legacy that I hope to build the future of the party, but more importantly, the future of the country." On Sept. 3-4 Euripides' play Hecuba the Refugee is performed in the ancient theater on Delos Island, becoming the first play to be performed there in 2.1K years. On Sept. 4 (Sun.) Pope Frances elevates Albanian-Indian nun Mother Teresa (1910-97) to sainthood, calling her a "witness to mercy in our time". On Sept. 4 Turkish troops allied with the Free Syrian Army push ISIS out of the Turkish-Syrian border, causing it to lose its border with NATO for the first time since 2013. On Sept. 4 elections in Germany are a D for Angela Merkel's Christian Dem. Union (CDU) and a V for the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany Party (AFD); a Sept. 1 poll reveals that her popularity has plunged to a 5-year low of 45%, with 51% saying it would "not be good" if she ran for another term. On Sept. 4-5 the 2016 (11th) G-20 Summit in Hangzhou, China is attended by Pres. Obama, who meets with Chinese pres. Xi Jinping; the Chinese forget (accidentally on purpose?) to line his airplane stairs with red carpet; the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement is high on the agenda.; on Sept. 5 Pres. Obama meets with Russian pres. Vladimir Putin, and they fail to find a solution in Syria, agreeing only to provide humanitarian aid, after which he utters the soundbyte that despite evidence of Russia hacking into the U.S. election sytem, he doesn't want a "wild wild West" cyberwar with Russia. On Sept. 5 the planes of U.S. pres. candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump end up parked within 100 yards of each other on the tarmac at the aiport in Cleveland, Ohio, with Trump getting there first. On Sept. 6 Pres. Obama visits bombed-out Laos, meeting with pres. (since Jan.) Bounnhang Vorachith. On Sept. 6 88 former U.S. military leaders pub. an open letter endorsing Donald Trump for U.S. pres., with the soundbyte: "The 2016 election affords the American people an urgently needed opportunity to make a long-overdue course correction in our national security posture and policy." On Sept. 6 Traitor, er, Pres. Obama nominates Pakistani-born atty. Abid Riz Qureshi to the U.S. District Court for D.C., becoming the first Muslim nominated to the federal judiciary. On Sept. 6 Hillary Clinton holds a rally at the U. of South Fla. that draws 1.5K; on Sept. 9 Donald Trump holds a rally in Pensacola, Fla. that draws 12K; on Sept. 20 Trump holds a rally in Estero, Fla. that draws 8K, while Hillary speaks at Temple U. in Philly before a crowd of 200; in Estero, Trump utters the soundbyte that Hillary "talks tougher about my supporters than she does about radical Islamic terrorists." On Sept. 7 (eve.) after Trump ends his media blacklist incl. the Washington Post, Politico, and Buzzfeed, the Commander in Chief Forum in New York City, hosted by MSNBC, NBC News, and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of Am., moderated by Matt Lauer sees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump take turns accusing each other of being unfit to be pres.; Trump calls for a massive military buildup to fight ISIS, incl. 50K more Army troops (540K total), 70 new warships (total 350), 13 new USMC batttallions, and 100 USAF planes (1.2K total), canceling budget caps to boost spending by $500B over the next 10 years, uttering the soundbyte: "History shows that when America is not prepared is when the danger is by far the greatest. We want to deter, avoid, and prevent conflict through our unquestioned military strength"; Trump opens the door to Dreamers who want to join the military; when asked to respond to Trump's numerous slams about how he "reduced American generals to rubble" et al., Pres. Obama laughs, with the soundbyte: "Somehow behavior that in normal times we'd consider completely unacceptable is normalized and people start thinking we should be grading on a curve." On Sept. 8 the Wells Fargo Scandal breaks, revealing that employees were goaded into opening up to 2M accounts without customers' knowledge, causing Wells Fargo to agree to pay $185M to regulators, and CEO (since Jan. 2010) John Gerard Stumpf (1953-) to quit in Oct. On Sept. 8 Hillary Clinton pub. a post in Humans of New York, reiterating a 1996 story she told to The New Yorker that when she took her LSAT in 1969 the men jerked her around for being a woman, telling her to "go home and get married", this time claiming they told her "If you take my spot, I'll get drafted, I'll go to Vietnam, and I'll die"; too bad, Pres. LBJ ended the draft deferment on Feb. 16, 1968. On Sept. 8 (eve.) Hillary Clinton delivers the keynote speech at the Nat. Baptist Convention in Kansas City, Mo. amidst 2K empty seats out of 5K, pointing how out she was raised a Methodist but married a Southern Baptist, mentioning her "deep and abiding Christian faith". On Sept. 8-17 195 mph Typhoon Meranti (Ferdie) kills 47 and causes $4.79B property damage in the Philippines, Tawan, and China, becoming the 2nd strongest tropical cyclone on record (until ?). On Sept. 9 North Korea tests a "higher level" nuclear warhead that it claims will allow it to build "at will" an array of stronger, smaller, lighter nukes, becoming their 5th atomic test, and the 2nd in 8 mo., scaring the West, with South Korea calling it "fanatic recklessness". On Sept. 9 the U.S. House unanimously passes a bill permitting 9/11 victim families to sue Saudi Arabia; Pres. Obama vows to veto it. On Sept. 9 Hillary Clinton gives a speech at the LGBT for Hillary gala in New York City, uttering the soundbyte: "You could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables, right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophbic, Islamophobic, you name it", causing Donald Trump to tweet: "Wow, Hillary Clinton was SO INSULTING to my supporters, millions of amazing, hard working people. I think it will cost her at the Polls!"; on Sept. 10 she partially flops, with the soundbyte: "Last night I was grossly generalistic, and that's never a good idea. I regret saying 'half', that was wrong. But let's be clear, what's really deplorable is that Donald Trump hired a major advocate for the so-called alt-right movement to run his campaign and that David Duke and other white supremacists see him as a champion of their values. It's deplorable that Trump has built his campaign largely on prejudice and paranoia and given a national platform to hateful views and voices, including by retweeting fringe bigots with a few dozen followers and spreading their message to 11 million people." On Sept. 9 (night) Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Pensacola, Fla., uttering the soundbytes: "The only thing she's done well - and she'll go down in history for it, I have to admit - is getting out of trouble with the emails; that's the single greatest achievement of Hillary Clinton"; "She could walk into this arena right now and shoot somebody with 20,000 people watching, right smack in the middle of the heart, and she wouldn't be prosecuted, OK? T hat is what's happened to our country." On Sept. 9 Israeli PM Benjamin pub. a video claiming that evacuating Israelis from the West Bank would amount to ethnic cleansing, dissing Pres. Obama with the soundbyte: "Some otherwise enlightened countries even promote this outrage." On Sept. 9 Zara retail chain owner Amancio Ortega passes Bill Gates as the world's richest man ($79.5B vs. $78.5B). On Sept. 10 after the FAA bans them on flights, Samsung of South Korea warns consumers to stop using their Galaxy Note 7 because the lithium batteries can explode and catch on fire. On Sept. 10 a 30 tonne meteorite is unearthed in Gancedo, Argentina, becoming the 2nd largest ever found. On Sept. 11 Hillary Clinton collapses during a 9/11 ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial Place in Lower Manhattan, N.Y., and is rushed away for emergency treatment, giving away her numerous lies about her health, er, she later claims easily curable pneumonia after becoming overheated and dehydrated, canceling a planned trip to Calif. for Sept. 12. On Sept. 11 the 333rd aniv. of the 1683 Battle of Vienna sees papal candidate Austrian cardinal Christoph Schoenborn (Schönborn) (1945-) utter the soundbyte: "Will there be an Islamic conquest of Europe? Many Muslims want that and say Europe is at the end." On Sept. 12 after a long argument, U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), chmn. of the House Oversight Committee gives a subpoena to FBI liaison Jason Herring ordering the FBI to give them its complete investigative file on Hillary's email behavior, not just the redacted summary given them on Sept. 2. On Sept. 12 somebody torches the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, the mosque attended by gay-killer Omar Mateen and Syrian jihadist Moner Mohammad Abu Salha. On Sept. 13 the U.S. House of Reps. led by conservative John Fleming (R-La.) begins impeachment proceedings for IRS commissioner John Koskinen for lying to Congress about producing all of IRS senior exec Lois G. Lerner's emails and for allowing taxpayer info. to be stolen by cyberhackers. On Sept. 13 Buzzfeed and Daily Caller pub. hacked emails from DCLeaks.com by former U.S. secy. of state gen. Colin Powell in which he calls Donald Trump a "national disgrace" and a racist "international pariah" for mainstreaming the Obama birther movement, while dissing Hillary Clinton for trying to connect him to her emails despite repeated warnings, claiming that she "does not look good", is "working herself to death", and "nobody likes her", and "I would rather not have to vote for her, although she is a friend I respect", adding that her hubby Bill is still "dicking bimbos"; several emails to Powell from Jeffrey Leeds of Leeds Equity Partners reveal that Hillary hates and envies Pres. Obama, and that Obama wouldn't mind seeing her lose. On Sept. 13 Ford Motor Co. CEO Mark Fields announces plans to move all small-car production in North Am. to Mexico, vindicating the gloom and doom warnings of Donald Trump, who speaks at the Bethel United Methodist Church in Flint, Mich. on Sept. 14, uttering the soundbyte: "It used to be that cars were made in Flint and you couldn't drink the water in Mexico. And now the cars are made in Mexico and you can't drink the water in Flint"; too bad, pastor Faith Green Timmons stops Trump from criticizing sacred cow Hillary; on Sept. 15 the U.S. Senate by 95-3 passes the $9B U.S. Water Resources Development Act of 2016 to fund U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects at Flint, Mich. et al. On Sept. 14 Donald Trump appears on the Doctor Oz show, handing him some medical records, the report on a recent physical; meanwhile Hillary Clinton's physician Lisa Bardack of Mount Kisco, N.Y. announces that she is "healthy and fit" to serve as U.S. pres., and has non-existent? "non-contagious bacterial pneumonia", after which on Sept. 14 Trump's physician Harold Bernstein releases a letter claiming that he is in "excellent physical health", although he takes rosuvastatin and low dose aspirin and is clinically obese. On Sept. 15 the U.S. House by 244-174 (incl. 12 Dems., with four Repubs. against) passes a bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. (R-Ind.) Jackie Walorski banning transfers from Gitmo for the remainder of Pres. Obama's presidency, pissing-off Dems., who call it "probably unconstitutional and certainly immoral". On Sept. 15 U.S. Sen. minority leader (D-Utah) Harry Reid slams Donald Trump, with the soundbyte: "He is a spoiled brat raised in plenty who inherited a fortune and used his money to make more money, and he did a lot by swindling working men and women... Trump is a human leech who will bleed the country and sit at his golf resort laughing at the money he has made." On Sept. 15 Pres. Obama establishes the 5K-sq.-mi. U.S. Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine Nat. Monument, becoming the first nat. marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean; commercial mining, drilling, and fishing is prohibited except for lobster and red crab. On Sept. 16 after Hillary Clinton calls the Birther Movement an "outrageous lie", with the soundbyte: "We know who Donald is. For five years he has led the birther movement to delegitimize our first black president", and he responds that she started the Obama birther controversy during her 2008 primary campaign, but can't pin it on her personally, Donald Trump folds and announces that "President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period. Now we all want to get back to making America strong and great again"; the whole birther controversy is a decoy to coverup that Obama's real father is Am. Communist Frank Marshall Davis (1905-87)? On Sept. 16 French police announce the arrest of three Algerian Muslim men in Paris, France for luring a French woman on Facebook then gang-raping her near the Eiffel Tower before/after chaining her to it. On Sept. 16 Donald Trump tweets that if she's really against guns, Hillary Clinton's bodyguards should disarm themselves and "see what happens", causing U.S. Sen. (Dem.-Conn.) Chris Murphy to accuse him of suggesting her assassination. On Sept. 16 40-y.-o. black family man with a clean record Terence Tafford Crutcher Sr. (b. 1976) is shot and killed by two white police officers in Tulsa, Okla. while standing beside his stalled SUV and holding his unarmed hands high, becoming yet another case of White Is Right police in Ooooo-kla-homa; Kansas City police officer Donald Ebert makes a post on Facebook about the shooting, saying that Crutcher "should have dropped the entitlement card and listened the first time. Good shoot"; on Sept. 22 white police officer Betty Shelby is charged with first-degree manslaughter for killing him, only to see the jury acquit her on May 17, 2017; too bad, PCP was found in Crutcher's body. On Sept. 17 (9:30 a.m.) a pipe bomb detonates in a garbage can at the starting point of the USMC charity race in Seaside Park, N.J., injuring no one but setting off a massive terrorism response; on Sept. 17 (8:31 p.m.) a powerful homemade bomb explodes on a crowded sidewalk at West 23rd Ave. and 6th Ave. in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, N.Y., injuring 29; a second pressure cooker device is found four blocks away; on Sept. 19 (12:40 a.m..) a bomb is found in a trash can near a train station in Elizabeth, N.J., and exploded by a bomb squad; on Sept. 19 (noon) Afghan-born Am. Muslim Ahmad Khan Rahami (1988-) is captured in Linden, N.J. after a shootout with police, and is accused of all three bombings; Rahami's journal calls Osama bin Laden "brother" and indicates that he wanted to punish the U.S. for killing fellow Muslims in the Middle East, furnishing yet another proof that mass Muslim immigration is suicidal for the U.S. because Muslims won't assimilate but will retain their foreign Muslim identities; on Sept. 19 Donald Trump utters the soundbyte: "These attacks and many others were made possible because of our extremely open immigration system, which fails to properly vet and screen the individuals and families coming into our country." On Sept. 17 (8:15 p.m.) Allah-Akbar-shouting Muslim Somali immigrant Dahir A. Adan (b. 1994) stages a knife attack at Crossroads Mall in St. Cloud, Minn., injuring eight after asking if they were Muslim; ISIS claims responsibility; too bad, Pres. Obama calls this a "potential act of terrorism", causing Am. evangelist Rev. Franklin Graham on Sept. 20 to post the Facebook soundbyte: "Why is it so hard for our president and his administration to call Islamic terrorism what it is?... Potential? The Islamic State already proudly claimed credit - how much more 'potential' do you need?" On Sept. 17 Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Christian conservative USAF Academy-hosting Colo. Springs, Colo. On Sept. 18 (early a.m.) Pakistani Jaish-e-Mohammed rebels attack an Indian border army base in Uri, Kashmir (near Srinagar), killing 17 soldiers while losing four rebels KIA. On Sept. 18 an air strike on Al-Tharda Mountain in Deir ez-Sor, Syria kills 62 Syrian soldiers and injures 100+, pissing-off Russia, which accuses the U.S. of supporting ISIS. On Sept. 19 after Newsweek pub. an article detailing his foreign business entanglements, 55 former U.S. govt. officials incl. former acting CIA dir. Michael Morell and former undersecy. of defense for intel Michael Vickers pub. an open letter calling for him "to disclose, in full, the nature of his business relationships overseas." On Sept. 20 Pres. Obama gives a speech at the U.N. Gen. Assembly, calling for world leaders to accept more Muslim refugees - shilling for George Soros again? On Sept. 20 Hollyweird's #1 supercouple Brad Pitt and Angelie Jolie AKA Brangelia announce that Angelina has filed for divorce. On Sept. 20 the Clinton Global Initiative gives a dinner for Hanan al-Hroub, wife of convicted terrorist Omar al-Hroub, who provided materials used in a 1980 bombing that killed six Israelis. On Sept. 20 the TV series This Is Us debuts on NBC-TV for ? episodes (until ?), starring Mandy Moore as Rebecca Pearson, Milo Ventimiglia as her husband Jack, Sterling K. Brown as their son Randall, Chrissy Metz as their daughter Kate, and Justin Hartley as their other son Kevin; Kate and Kevin were conceived in the bathroom of Froggy's Bar during Super Bowl XIV as part of triplets, and when their brother is stillborn the parents adopt Randall. On Sept. 21 riots in Kinshasa, Dem. Repub. of Congo over pres. (since Jan. 26, 2001) Joseph Kabila's attempt to stay in power by postponing elections scheduled for Nov. On Sept. 21 R.I. Muslim convert Nicholas Rovinski pleads guilty to an ISIS conspiracy to behead anti-Islam (anti-jihad) blogger Pamela Geller. On Sept. 21 protests over police butality in Charlotte, NC. sees Justin Carr (b. 1990) shot by a gun in the back of the head by Rayquan Borum, causing gov. Pat McCrory to declare a state of emergency; Carr dies in the hospital on Sept. 22; Borum is arrested on Sept. 23. On Sept. 21 U.S. secy. of state John Kerry slips up at the U.N. and utters the soundbyte: "Now, I have said to Russia many times it's very hard to separate people when they are being bombed indiscriminately and when Assad has the right to determine who he's going to bomb, because he can, quote, 'go after Nusrah' but go after the opposition at the same time because he wants to", indicating that Syria was prohibited from attacking al-Nusrah Front AKA al-Qaida in Syria. On Sept. 21 the Nat. Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine pub. a Report on Immigration to the U.S., revealing that immigrants sap $296B a year more in govt. benefits than they pay in taxes, with all gains to the economy skewed towards themselves and to wealthy investors while hurting native-born workers. On Sept. 21 Donald Trump gives a speech at the African-Am. New Spirit Revival Center in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, pushing stop-and-risk as the "proactive" solution to stop black-on-black street crime; African-Am. boxing promoter Don King gives a speech praising Donald Trump as the only candidate that makes the case that "the system is the enemy", with the soundbytes: "He's the only man in hundreds of years that has the consensus of public opinion of rejection to the form of governmen. The system is corrupt; the system is rigged; the system is sexist; the system is racist"; "He's the only gladiator to take out the system... and create a new systemâ€; "We need Donald Trump, especially black people"; "When the system was created... the white woman did not have the rights, and she still don't have the rights. And people of color don't have their rights... Donald Trump says no, we're going back to inclusiveness. Everybody counts. Every white woman should cast their vote for Donald Trump." On Sept. 21 Pres. Obama sends a memo to his dept. heads, instructing them to consider the impact of climate change on nat. security. On Sept. 22 Yahoo.com confirms reports of a data breach of "at least" 500M user accounts in 2014. On Sept. 22 the U.S.-backed and Iranian-backed Iraqi military captures the ISIS-held town of Shirqat, Iraq. On Sept. 22 Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu gives a speech to the U.N. Gen. Assembly on the "core of the Palestinian-Israel conflict", uttering the soundbyte that the U.N. "began as a moral force and has become a moral farce", adding "Lay down your arms. The war against Israel is over. Israel has a bright future at the U.N.", saying that if Palestinians accept peace there will be peace, inviting Mahmoud Abbas to "speak to the Israeli people at the Knesset in Jerusalem" and offering to "gladly come to speak peace wtih the Palestinian parliament in Ramallah", but "we will not accept any attempt by the U.N. to dictate terms to Israel", because "The road to peace runs through Jerusalem and Ramallah, not New York"; at a meeting in Manhattan he utters the soundbyte that U.S. public support for the Palestinian cause is "flat like an EKG of a dead person"; meanwhile on Sept. 22 Palestinian Authority pres. Mahmoud Abbas gives a speech at the U.N. Gen. Assembly, dissing the Balfour Declaration that granted Israel its territory, with the soundbyte: "100 years have passed since the notorious Balfour Declaration, by which Britain gave, without any right, authority or consent from anyone, the land of Palestine to another people", demanding that Britain apologize and threatening to sue for damages. On Sept. 22 after protests outside U.N. HQ by former U.S. Sen. Joe Liberman et al. on Sept. 21, Iranian pres. Hasan Rouhani gives a speech to the U.N. Gen. Assembly, blasting "the usurping Zionist regime" as well as the U.S. and Saudi Arabia for fueling terrorism, also accusing the U.S. of not complying with the nuclear deal, eroding its credibility; on Sept. 21 Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari gives a speech at the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., dissing the media for failing to "call out the Iranian government's Holocaust denial". On Sept. 22 the U.S. House investigative committee chaired by Jason Chaffetz votes 19-15 along party lines to hold Bryan Pagliano in contempt after no-showing 2x to testify on his boss Hillary's Clinton's secret emails. On Sept. 22 Pres. Obama gives an interview to historian Doris Kearns Goodwin in Vanity Fair mag., with the soundbyte about Donald Trump: "I don't think it's a surprise for me to say that I don't think his temperament is suited for this office. But it's not something that I have to emphasize because I think the majority of the American people have figured that out", adding that he views Trump's candidacy as "an expression of certain fears, certain resentments, that have been a running thread in American history" - he didn't say deplorables? On Sept. 22 Category 7 (165 mph) Hurricane Matthew starts as a tropical wave off the African coast, approaching E of the Leeward Islands on Sept. 18 and turning into a tropical storm E of the Lesser Antilles on Sept. 28, and a Category 5 hurricane on Oct. 1, hitting Haiti, Dominican Repub., Cuba, Bahamas et al., paralleling the Fla. coastline but staying offshore before dissipating on Oct. 10 after killing 603 and causing $15B damage. On Sept. 23 Syrian bombing of rebel-held districts in Aleppo, Syria intensifies with a new govt. offensive; meanwhile U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) calls the situation "a colossal disaster" that a "wise statesman" should have foreseen. On Sept. 23 a study by U.S. sociologists Penny Edgell, Douglas Hartmann, Evan Stewart, and Joseph Gerteis is pub., showing that Muslims have passed atheists as the most unpopular group in the U.S., with 48.9% disapproving their child marrying a Muslim, up from 33.5% in 2006; meanwhile another study by the Montaigne Inst. finds that 28% of French Muslims hold extremists views, or are attracted to fundamentalism and oppose secular lifestyles. On Sept. 23 (6:52 p.m. PDT) Muslim Turkish immigrant Arcan Cetin (1996-) of Oak Harbor, Wash. stages a massacre inside a Macy's dept. store in the Cascade Mall in Burlington, Wash., killing five shoppers incl. four women in the makeup dept. before fleeing; he is arrested on Sept. 24; the PC press tries another coverup, initially describing him as Hispanic. On Sept. 23 Kosovo-born Am. Muslim Ardit Ferizi is sentenced to 20 years in prison for providing ISIS with a kill list containing info. on 1.3K U.S. govt. and military employees, becoming the first terrorist hacker convicted in the U.S. On Sept. 23 Tex. Sen. Ted Cruz swallows, er, announces that he's going to vote for archrival Donald Trump for U.S. pres. On Sept. 24 a shooting and suicide bomb attack at a police checkpoint in Tikrit, Iraq kills 12 incl. four police. On Sept. 25 anti-Islam Jordanian Christian activist Mad Hatter, er, Nahed Hattar is gunned down outside a court where he was set to stand trial for criticizing Islam on social media; he had survived another assassination attempt in 1998 - never mock Grandaddy M? On Sept. 25 Donald Trump meets with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, discussing Israel's security fence and confirming that as U.S. pres. he will recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. On Sept. 26 Boko Haram attacks three villages near Chibok Town, Borno State, Nigeria, killing eight and hoisting flags. On Sept. 26 Time mag. pub. a cover story The New Politics of Late Night, about "The seriously partisan politics of late-night comedy", cheering "comics [who] are ditching balance and taking sides" against Donald Trump, incl. Samantha Bee, Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah, Seth Myers, Jimmy Kimmel, and John Oliver. On Sept. 26 ignoring Pres. Obama's warning that it "cannot permanently occupy and settle Palestinian land", Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu announces the expansion of settlements in E Jerusalem, Hebron, and Bethlehem. On Sept. 26 an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting sees a walkout by the U.S., British, and French ambassadors as the Syrian ambassador begins to speak, with U.S. ambassador Samantha Power accusing Russia of "barbarism", and British ambassador Matthew Rycroft calling Russia "an international pariah" for its escalation of the air offensive against rebel-held E Aleppo, where 250K civilians are trapped. On Sept. 26 (eve.) the First Clinton-Trump Debate at Hofstra U. in Hempstead, N.Y., moderated by Lester Holt of NBC News and watched by a record 80M is a push, with ever-sniffling (50X+) Trump coming on strong early bragging about how Supply Side Economics will rescue the economy, and how she was a big supporter of the TPP, and Hillary coming on strong at the end by bringing up his refusal to release his taxes and trying to pin the Birther Movement on him and bringing up his non-PC language about women and blacks, reversing his criticism of her stamina by pointing to her past stamina while skipping over her recent problems; Trump uses the word "braggadocious"; Trump scores a late V with the soundbyte: "Hillary has experience, but it's bad experience"; Hillary used aide Philippe Reines to play Trump during debate preparations; on Sept. 27 Hillary holds a rally at Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh, N.C. before a capacity crowd of 1.4K, uttering the soundbyte: "Did anybody see that debate last night? Oh yes! One down, two to go", adding "He made very clear that he didn't prepare for that debate", explaining why she dropped out of the campaign as getting ready for it, with the soundbyte: "Just trying to keep track of everything he says took a lot of time", calling him "dangerously incoherent"; meanwhile on Sept. 27 Trump holds a rally before a capacity crowd of tens of thousands in a hangar in Melbourne, Fla., claiming to win the debate based on unscientific Internet polls, but backing it up by raising $13M in 24 hours. On Sept. 27 after the EU condemns Hungary for its new S border fence, sealed on Sept. 20, causing 5K refugees to pour into Croatia, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban announces that if Muslims continue to immigrate, they will refuse to assimilate and end up living in parallel Muslim societies, accusing EU bureaucrats and German chancelllor Angela Merkel of "destroying Europe". On Sept. 28 after U.S. Senate majority whip John Cornyn (R-Tex.) and #3 Dem. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), introduce the bill, the U.S. Congress overrides Pres. Obama's veto of their 9/11 Saudi lawsuit bill, with the Senate voting 97-1 (Dem. Harry Reid of Nev.), and the House voting 348-77 (incl. two-thirds of Dems.), becoming Obama's first. On Sept. 30 (Fri.) a rare Black Moon (where the illuminated side of the Moon is caught in the shadow of the Earth) occurs right before the Jewish Feast of Trumpets, causing many to fear the End of Days. On Sept. 30 Internat. Blasphemy Rights Day is sponsored by the Center for Inquiry, founded by Paul Kurtz. On Sept. 30 after Hillary Clinton tries to zing Donald Trump in their first debate by bringing up 1996 Miss Universe Yoseph Alicia Machado Fajardo (1976-), which seems to catch him off-guard, and he won't drop the issue but keeps researching, thinking, and tweeting about it, Hillary utters the soundbyte: "Who gets up at 3 in the morning to engage in a Twitter attack?" - she couldn't get up at 3 a.m. to respond to a national emergency? On Sept. 30 the House Office of Inspector General charges Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz's aide Imran Awan with funneling data off the House network and giving a USB drive to a Pakistani senator who was once head a Pakistani intel agency; Imran's father Haji Ashraf Awan is later discovered to be giving data to Pakistani official Rehman Malik, bragging that he has the power to "change the U.S. president", with leaks going back to 2008. In Sept. the FBI is informed of intel that Hillary Clinton "approved a campaign plan to stir up a scandal against U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump by tying him to Putin and the Russians' hacking of the Democratic National Committee." In Sept. Lutz Bachmann, 2014 founder of the PEGIDA anti-Islamization movement flees Germany to avoid persecution by the Muslim-appeasing German govt., settling in Spanish-held Tenerife, Canary Islands. In Sept. Turkish hacker group RedHack releases hacked emails of Turkish energy minister Berat Albayrak, revealing that he purchased oil from ISIS via the Powertrans co., which PM Erdogan's family is connected with, pissing-off the Turkish govt., who tries to shut them down. In Sept. U.S. unemployment is 5.0% (vs. 4.9% in Aug.), with the economy adding 156K jobs (vs. 167K in Aug.). On Oct. 1 the Obama admn. hands over control of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority to the the Calif.-based ICANN globial consortium, pissing-off Repubs., who claim he needs approval of Congress; it's a scheme by the Brown, Getty, Newsom, and Pelosi families who rule Calif.? On Oct. 2 (Sun.) a referendum in Hungary over whether the country should be forced to accept refugees receives a 98% note vote; too bad, the 43% turnout is below the 50% legal threshold, causing PM Viktor Orban to declare it "politically valid". On Oct. 2 a referendum in Columbia over the peace deal with Marxist rebels is narrowly rejected by 50.2% to 49.7%, becoming a V for former pres. Alvaro Uribe and a D for current pres. Juan Manuel Santos. On Oct. 2 German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble calls on Muslims in Germany to develop a liberal tolerant "German Islam". On Oct. 2 former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani gives an interview to George Stephanopoulos of ABC-News, uttering the soundbyte that if Donald Trump legally avoided taxes for years, that proves "he's a genius, absolute genius... This was a perfectly legal application of the tax code, and he would have been a fool not to take advantage of it", adding that Hillary Clinton had "obviously been programmed" to bring up Miss Universe Alicia Machado in their first debate; meanwhile leftist filmmaker Michael Moore gives an interview to NBC-TV's "Meet the Press", admitting that Trump can win the election because "I think they love the idea of blowing up the system", adding: "Across the Midwest, across the Rustbelt, I understand why a lot of people are angry, and they see Donald Trump as their human Molotov cocktail that they get to go into the voting booth on Nov 8. and throw him into our political system"; meanwhile Bernie Sanders gives an interview to CNN's "State of the Union", defending Hillary Clinton as the "superior" candidate for U.S. pres. despite an audio recording released on Sept. 30 showing her mocking his supporters as "children of the Great Recession" who "live in their parents' basements", admitting that it bothers him, and dissing Trump for a New York Times report that claims he might have been legally avoiding paying federal income tax for 18 years, saying: "This is an example of why so many millions of Americans are frustrated. They're angry. They're disgusted at what they see as a corrupt political system in this country"; meanwhile U.S. Sen. (D-Mo.) Claire McCaskill slams Trump on "Fox News Sunday" for the NYT report, with the soundbyte: "If you look at the way Donald Trump has conducted business, he crashes businesses into bankruptcy, leaving stores of businesses unpaid, people really hurting with the losses his companies have suffered. But he walks away unscathed, and it appears he walks away with a golden ticket that allows him, under the tax code, to avoid taxes for decades", adding that Trump's tax plan only benefits himself; meanwhile U.S. Senate minority leader (D-Nev.) Harry Reid calls Trump a "billion-dollar loser", calling for passage of the U.S. Presidential Tax Transparency Act that requires all U.S. pres. candidates to release their federal tax returns for the prior three years to the Federal Election Commission within 30 days, or have the U.S. Treasury Dept. do it. On Oct. 3 a secret meeting of ISIS leaders in Mutaibija, Diyala, Iraq ends in a gunfight, killing one and injuring three. On Oct. 3 N.Y. atty.-gen. Eric Schneiderman sends a notice of violation to the Donald J. Trump Foundation, ordering it to cease all fundraising activity until it properly registers; done for political reasons? On Oct. 3 the debt racked-up by the Obama admin. tops the $9T mark ($19,573,444,713,936.79, up by $8,946,567,665,023.71). On Oct. 3 the U.S. military begins paying for surgery and other procedures for transgender sevice members, incl. reassignment surgery. On Oct. 4 the Pence-Kaine Debate at Longwood U. in Farmville, Va. is a push, with Kaine stinking himself up by repeatedly interrupting, with Pence uttering his biggest soundbyte: "I mean, to be honest with you, if Donald Trump had said all of the things that you've said he said in the way you said he said them, he still wouldn't have a fraction of the insults that Hillary Clinton leveled when she said that half of our supporters were a basket of deplorables." On Oct. 6 40 suspected AQIM jihadists attack a refugee camp in Tassara, Niger, killing 20, mostly Nigerian soldiers. On Oct. 7 the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security and dir. of Nat. Intelligence accuses the Russian govt. of election-year hacking, with homeland security secy. Jeh Johnson uttering the soundbyte: "The U.S. intelligence community is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of emails from U.S. persons and institutions, including from U.S. political organizations... These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the U.S.... We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities." On Oct. 7 a recording of private comments made by Donald Trump in 2005 to Billy Bush of Access Hollywood (cousin of Jeb Bush) is leaked by the anti-Trump Washington Post, in which he brags about his benefits of being a star, incl. an attempted seduction of Bush's married colleague Nancy O'Dell, with the soundbyte: "You know, I'm automatically attracted to beautiful. I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab 'em by the pussy", to which Bush replies "Whatever you want", pissing-off the PC police and causing House Oversight Committee chmn. (R-Utah) Jason Chaffetz to withdraw his endorsement, and fence-sitting House Speaker Paul Ryan to cancel an appearance with him on Oct. 8 in Elkhorn, Wisc., with the soundbyte: "I am sickened by what I heard here today. Women are to be championed and revered, not objectified"; Trump responds that "Bill Clinton has said far worse", apologizing if his remarks offend anyone, with the soundbyte: "I never said I was perfect", responding to predictable calls to quit the race with "Zero chance I'll quit... the support I'm getting is unbelievable", adding: "Go behind closed doors of the holier-than-thou politicians and pundits and see what they're saying. I look like a baby"; on Oct. 8 Mike Pence pulls out of the Wisc. event with Ryan, adding that he's offended too but is "grateful that he has expressed remorse and apologized to the American people"; on Oct. 9 before the debate former New York City mayor defends Trump, with the soundbyte: "The fact is that men at times talk like that. Not all men, but men do. He was wrong for doing it. I am not justifying it. I believe it's wrong. I know he believes it's wrong. I believe that this is not the man that we're talking about today... Gosh almighty, he who is without sin here throw the first stone"; on Oct. 9 before the debate Pres. Obama weighs in with the soundbyte: "One of the most disturbing things about this election is just the unbelievable rhetoric coming at the top of the Republican ticket. I don't need to repeat it. There are children in the room, but demeaning women, degrading women, but also minorities, immigrants, people of other faiths, mocking the disabled, insulting our troops, insulting our veterans, that tells you a couple things. It tells you he is insecure enough that he pumps himself up by putting other people down. Not a character trait that I would advise for somebody in the Oval Office"; meanwhile WikiLeaks releases excerpts from Hillary Clinton's Wall Street speeches that were sent to her top aid John Podesta in Jan., calling Bernie Sanders supporters a "bucket of losers" and admitting that she tells the public one thing and believes another, with the soundbyte: "My dream is a hemispheric common market with open trade and open borders", causing political analyst David Wol to utter the soundbyte: "This will hit Hillary Clinton's campaign like a 9.0 earthquake when this is absorbed... This exposes her, literally, as a complete fraud" - and touchy-feely holier-than-thou male politicians are as big liars as Hillary? On Oct. 8 elections in Palestine (Gaza and West Bank) (first in 10 years). On Oct. 8 the U.N. Security Council votes on a Russian draft resolution on the Aleppo situation, proposing a political rather than military solution; Egypt votes for, and Saudi Arabia votes against, exposing their rift. On Oct. 9 a Palestinian terrorist opens fire at a the Ammunition Hill light rail stop next to police HQ in N Jerusalem, Israel, killing two and injuring six. On Oct. 9 after they refuse to shake hands at the start, the Second Clinton-Trump Debate at Washington U. in St. Louis, Mo., moderated by Anderson Cooper of CNN and Martha Raddatz of ABC News sees Donald Trump deflect his p---y scandal by dismissing it as "locker room talk", and take it to Hillary Clinton, staring out by saying that she'd "be in jail" if he was president, and accusing her of rigging her nomination race against Bernie Sanders, saying he "never had a chance", calling her every name in the book incl. "devil", with the soundbyte: "There's never been anybody in the history of politics in this nation that's been so abusive to women" while she reciprocates, with "It's just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in this country, to which he replies "Because you'd be in jail"; during the debate a fly lands on Hillary's nose, and she doesn't flinch; she wears Angel perfume by French fashion designer Thierry Mugler (1948-), which smells like shit?, or it is her? :); Trump scores round 0 points by holding a press conference one hour before the debate with sexual misconduct accusers of Bill Clinton incl. Kathleen Willey, Juanita Broddrick, Paula Jones, and Kathy Shelton, whom he sits in the front row; Trump scores a round by calling her out on her attempt to explain away a WikiLeaks revelation that she admits to having separate public and private positions by comparing herself to Honest Abe Lincoln, with the soundbyte: "Look, she got caught in a total lie... Now she's blaming the lie on the late great Abraham Lincoln... Honest Abe never lied... That's the big difference between Abraham Lincoln and you" - Madame Secretary, you're no Abraham Lincoln? On Oct. 10 after the Clinton campaign continues harping on tapes showing him saying playboyish things, Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Ambridge, Penn., slamming her for her "hypocrisy", saying that he is "disqualified from office" for her email crimes, and uttering the soundbytes: "There's nothing Hillary Clinton won't do or say to obtain power, and it's about time people started to understand that" and "I'll tell you what, the only thing she's got going is the media. Without the media, she would not have a chance." On Oct. 11 after keeping his silence during the weekend, Repub. Nat. Committee chmn. Reince Priebus announces that the Repub. Party is still standing with Donald Trump. On Oct. 11 Nick Antosca's creepypasta series Channel Zero debuts on Syfy for ? episodes (until ?). On Oct. 12 with abundant help from the liberal PC media, five women accuse Donald Trump of sexual assault, but not very much, claiming only that he kissed, hugged, or leered at them, incl. Rachel Crooks (b. 1983), People mag. ed. Natashya Strokonoff, er, Stoynoff, who claims he forced "his tongue down my throat" (and she didn't bite it off?), Mindy McGillvray (b. 1980), who claims he grapped her butt backstage at a Ray Charles concert (wanted to wipe it?), former Miss Washington Cassandra Searles, who claimed he "continually grabbed my ass and invited me to his hotel room"; only 74-y.-o. ugly Jessica Leeds claims that he inappropriately touched her on a first-class flight 35 years earlier, with the soundbyte: "He was like an octopus. His hands were everywhere"; four more women tell BuzzFeed that Trump walked in on them in their dressing room during the 1997 Miss Teen USA pageant; Trump responds by threatening to sew the NYT and telling a reporter "You are a disgusting human being... None of this ever took place" - so why bring it up now if they didn't bring it up then, call the police, sue, anything? On Oct. 12 (night) Muslim convert Muhummed Isa Al Mahdi (Kirk Figueroa) (1983-) shoots two police officers in East Boston, Mass. before they kil him. On Oct. 13 world's longest-serving monarch king (since June 9, 1946) Rama X (b. 1927) dies, and his son Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn becomes Chakri king #10 Rama X (1952-) of Thailand (until ?). On Oct. 13 after Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen launch cruise missiles on Oct. 12 at U.S. Navy destroyer USS Mason, the U.S. retaliates with missile strikes on three coastal radar sites. On Oct. 13 Muslim-dominated UNESCO votes 26-6-26 to approve a resolution by Mexico that restricts access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in a way that ignores Jewish ties to Jewish holy sites in Jerusalem incl. the Temple Mount and Western Wall, despite abundant historical evidence that Jerusalem was in Jewish hands for 1.6K years before the Muslims grabbed onto it; Italy abstains, but on Oct. 21 Italian PM Matteo Renzi utters the soundbyte that the resolution is "incomprehensible and unacceptable, instructing diplomats to vote against it next time"; on Oct. 27 UNESCO passes another resolution expressing "deep concern" that Israel is doing archeological excavations and building works in the Old City; in Oct. after the UNESCO resolutions are passed, the Israeli govt. produces a papyrus fragment dug up by the Israel Antiquities Authority, dated to the 7th cent. B.C., containing the earliest known Hebrew reference to Jerusalem outside the Bible - well shut my mouth? On Oct. 13 WikiLeaks releases a transcript of a speech by Hillary Clinton in which she calls black people and Muslims losers: "THE MAIN REASON BEHIND SUCCESSFUL IMMIGRATION SHOULD BE PAINFULLY OBVIOUS TO EVEN THE MOST DIMWITTED OF OBSERVERS: SOME GROUPS OF PEOPLE ARE ALMOST ALWAYS HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL GIVEN ONLY HALF OF A CHANCE (JEWS*, HINDUS/SIKHS AND CHINESE PEOPLE, FOR EXAMPLE), WHILE OTHERS (MUSLIMS, BLACKS** AND ROMA***, FOR INSTANCE) FARE BADLY ALMOST IRRESPECTIVE OF CIRCUMSTANCES. THE BIGGEST GROUP OF HUMANITY CAN BE FOUND SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THESE TWO EXTREMES – THE PERENNIAL OVERACHIEVERS AND THE PROFESSIONAL NEVER-DO-WELLS"; meanwhile attys. for Hillary Clinton submit answers under oath to 23 of 25 questions posed to her about her emails by Judicial watch under the FOI Act, using the phrase "I do not remember" 20x. On Oct. 13 after new sexual assault accusers appear on the liberal media, Donald Trump speaks at a rally in West Palm Beach, Fla., where he utters the soundbyte: "These vicious claims about me of inappropriate conduct with women are totally and absolutely false, and the Clintons know it, and they know it very well. These claims are all fabricated. They're pure fiction, and they're outright lies. These events never, ever happened and the people that said them meekly fully understand"; meanwhile First Lady Michelle Obama gives a speech at a Hillary Clinton rally in N.H. blasting Trump for his "demeaning attitude" toward women, with the soundbyte: "The fact is in this election we have a candidate for president of the United States who over the course of his lifetime and the course of this campaign has said things about women that are so shocking, so demeaning, I simply will not repeat anything here today. And last week we saw this candidate actually bragging about sexual assaulting women. I can't believe I'm saying that a candidate for president of the United States has bragged about sexually assaulting women", saying the lewd locker room comments "have shaken me to my core"; too bad, she adds that Trump's locker room talk "wasn't just locker room banter. This was a powerful individual speaking freely and openly about sexually predatory behavior", causing Mike Pence on Oct. 14 to utter the soundbyte: "I don't understand the basis of her claim. Wht he's made clear is that was talk, regrettable talk on his part, but that there were no actions and he's categorically denied these latest unsubstantiated allegations", responding to the question if he personally believes Trump with the soundbyte: "I do believe him. The Donald Trump that I've come to know... is someone who has a long record of not only loving his family, lifting his family up, but employing and promoting women in positions of authority in his company"; meanwhile her hubby Pres. Obama invites the campus anti-gun Cocks Not Glocks group to the White House, bringing their locker room talk with them, which is PC because women are doing it along with men? On Oct. 14 after claiming Russian interference in the U.S. pres. election, U.S. vice-pres. Joe Biden gives an interview to NBC News, saying "We're sending a message" to Russian pres. Vladimir Putin incl. wide-ranging clandestine cyberwar, with the soundbyte: "We have the capacity to do it. It will be at the time of our choosing, and under the circumstances that will have the greatest impact." On Oct. 15 an ISIS suicide bombing in the Shaab neighborhood of N Bagdead kills 35 and injures 3. On Oct. 15 multiple missiles are fired at three U.S. warships in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, incl. USS Mason, USS Nitze, and USS Ponce; there are no hits. On Oct. 16 (Sun.) the 8th BRICS Summit in Goa, India. On Oct. 16 Kuwait ruler Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah dissolves parliament over security concerns incl. ISIS. On Oct. 16 regional ISIS leader Mehmet Kadir Cabel is killed by police in a raid of his house in Gaziantep, Turkey; meanwhile Syrian rebels recapture the ISIS-held town of Dabiq, Syria, which ISIS believes will be the scene of Armageddon. On Oct. 16 the body of 19-y.-o. raped European Commission lawyer's daughter Maria Ladenburger (b. 1997) (volunteer at a refugee asylum) is found in a river in Freiburg, Germany, causing an outcry leading to the arrest of 17-y.-o. Afghan migrant ?. On Oct. 16 the 2016-7 Battle of Mosul to retake Mosul, Iraq from ISIS in Iraq begins with the Iraqi gov. offensive named Operation We Are Coming, Nineveh, becoming the world's largest single military operation since the 2003 Iraq invasion; it ends next July 20 after 9 mo. 4 days. On Oct. 17 pro-Hillary activist Zulema Rodriguez takes credit for organizing violent protests in Chicago, Ill. that forced Donald Trump to cancel a Mar. rally. On Oct. 17 after WikiLeaks releases another batch of emails about Hillary Clinton, revealing that U.S. undersecy. of state Patrick Kennedy requests that the FBI unclassify one of her emails in a quid pro quo deal with the U.S. State Dept. so that she could go on TV claiming she sent no classified emails, Donald Trump releases a video calling it "proof of corruption at the highest level" and "worse than Watergate",. describing the relationship as "a criminal enterprise" in a rally in Green Bay, Wisc., where he unveils his 5-point Drain the Swamp Plan, incl. a 5-year ban on all executive branch officials lobbying the govt. after leaving service, and closing loopholes for lobbyists. On Oct. 18 Ecuador announces that it's temporarily cutting WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's Internet access at their embassy in London to stop him from "impacting on the U.S. election campaign"; a result of pressure by Obama's stooge John Kerry? On Oct. 19 the Third (last) Clinton-Trump Debate at the U. of Nev. in Las Vegas, Nev. sees Trump blast Hillary for unpunished crimes incl. her email business and the Clinton Foundation, and Hillary sweetly smiling back in lieu of a substantial answer, accusing Trump of using Chinese steel in his hotels and being Vladimir Putin's puppet while waiting for an obviously pre-planned late debate stunt where moderator Chris Wallace asks him if he would accept the results of Hillary were declared the winner, but never asking her that same question, after which the pro-Hillary liberal media jumps on him for not kissing her royal hiney and only saying that he'll wait until the election to decide, and gives her the stage for a pre-planned harangue about him trying to destroy our 240-y.-o. democracy, while forgetting about Al Gore in 2000, with the soundbyte: "Our country has been around for 240 years, and we're a country based on laws, and we have hot, contested elections going back to the very beginning, but one of our hallmarks has always been that we accept the outcomes of our election; Trump utters the soundbyte: "In an email sent to John Podesta on August 17, 2014, Hillary wrote that the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia are providing clandestine and financial and logistical support to ISIL. Yet, in that same year, Bill and Hillary accepted a check from Saudi Arabia... So Hillary thinks they are funding ISIS, but still takes their money. And you know their views on gays... and on women... I think she should give back the $25 to $35 million she's taken back from Saudi Arabia, and she should give it back fast", which makes the audience forget its orders to keep silent, booing her and chanting "Lock her up"; Trump accuses Pres. Obama of orchestrating the new military offensive on Mosul only to help Hillary win, even though it's Iran that's the real enemy in Iraq not ISIS, and he gave advance warning to ISIS leaders, allowing them to clear out beforehand; when confronted with the WikiLeaks info. that she dreams of open borders and trade, she lies that she was only talking about energy; all in all few minds were changed? On Oct. 20 a suspected ISIS supporter attacks police in Tangerang, Banten Province, Indonesia, injuring five. On Oct. 20 (eve.) the 2016 Al Smith Dinner at the Chinese-owned Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City sees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton roast each other, with Hillary saying that she "took a break from my rigorous nap schedule" to attend, saying that since Trump threw away his TelePrompTers he has to translate his speeches from the "original Russian"; too bad, the lighthearted jokes soon turn serious, with Trump uttering the soundbyte: "Hillary is so corrupt, she got kicked off the Watergate Commission. How corrupt do you have to be to get kicked off the Watergate Commission? Pretty corrupt", drawing boos from the audience. On Oct. 21 the Internet of Things Hack takes down large chunks of the Internet. On Oct. 22 U.S. defense secy. Ash Carter arrives in Baghdad, Iraq to meet with military cmdrs. about the operation to retake Mosul from ISIS. On Oct. 22 Egyptian brig. gen. Adel Rajaei (b. 1964) is assassinated outside his home in Oubour City (near Cairo). On Oct. 22 AT&T agrees to buy Time Warner for $85.4B, causing Donald Trump on Oct. 24 to utter the soundbyte: "Donald Trump will break up the new media conglomerate oligopolies that have gained enormous control over our information, intrude into our personal lives, and in this election, are attempting to unduly influence America's political process." On Oct. 23 the Wall Street Journal pub. an article claiming that Hillary Clintn's close ally Terry McAuliffe authorized a $675K payment to Jill McCabe, wife of Andrew McCabe, a top official of the FBI, is who later promoted to deputy dir. and oversees the investigation into her secret server, causing RNC chmn. Reince Priebus to utter the soundbyte: "Given all we know about how the corrupt Clinton machine operates, it's hard not to see this as anything other than a down payment to influence the FBI's criminal investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server." On Oct. 24 Lashkar-e-Jhangvi jihadists in suicide vests attack a police academy in Quetta, Pakistan killing 59 and injuring 100+. On Oct. 24 the U.S. celebrates a record 11 straight years without a major (Category 3) hurricane striking the mainland. On Oct. 24 leftist filmmaker Michael Moore delivers a speech predicting a Donald Trump win, with the soudnbyte: "Trump's election will be the biggest fuck you in human history." On Oct. 25 fomer U.S. secy. of state Colin Powell endorses Hillary Clinton, becoming the 4th cabinet member of Pres. George W. Bush, saying that Trump is "selling a bill of goods" and is "unqualified", claiming to still be a Repub., reversing an email hacked by WikiLeaks, in which he said that Trump is "a national disgrace", but adds: "I would rather not have to vote for her, although she is a friend I respect. A 70-year person with a long track record, unbridled ambition, greedy, not transformational, with a husband still d---ing bimbos at home." On Oct. 25-Nov. 2 the 112th (2016) World Series sees the 103-58 Chicago Cubs (NL) (who won their last WS in 1908, and last appeared in the 1945 WS) defeat the 94-67 Cleveland Indians (AL) (who won their last WS in 1948, and last appeared in the 1997 WS) 4-3; on Nov. 2 Game 7 sees burned-out pitchers Corey Kluber (Indians) and Aroldis Chapman (Cleveland) give up hit after hit, causing a 6-6 tie in the 9th inning, with Cleveland having the momentum, which is spoiled by a 17-min. rain delay, after which Chicago scores 2 runs in the 9th inning to win - God wanted the Cubs to win? On Oct. 26 U.S. nat. security advisor Susan Rice gives a speech at Am. U, with the soundbyte: "The United States must continue to integrated LGBT rights into our government and foreign policy", praising a new rule announced on Oct. 25 by the U.S. Agency for Internat. Development (USAID) prohibiting discrimination by contractors. On Oct. 27 Russian pres. Vladimir Puttin speaks at the 13th Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, Russia, uttering the soundbyte; "Does anyone seriously imagine that Russia can somehow influence the American people's choice? America is not some kind of banana republic after all, but is a great power... The United States has plenty of genuinely urgent problems, it would seem, from the colossal public debt to the increase in firearms violence and cases of arbitrary action by the police. You would think that the election debates would concentrate on these and other unresolved problems, but the elite has nothing with which to reassure society, it seems, and therefore attempt to distract public attention by pointing instead to supposed Russian hackers, spies, agents of influence and so forth." On Oct. 28 Moroccan fishmonger Mouchine Fikri is killed by a trash compacter in Hoceima, Morocco while trying to retrieve fish confiscated by police, sparking more protests throughout Morocco over the weekend. On Oct. 28 the official Saudi daily Makkah announces that the Saudi Education Ministry it planning the Immunity educational campaign to "inoculate" schoolchilren against Western ideas incl. liberalism and secularism. On Oct. 28 FBI dir. James Comey sends a letter to Congress announcing the reopening of the Hillary Clinton email after more are discovered on the computer of Anthony Wiener, throwing her campaign staff into a tizzy; RNC chmn. Reince Preibus utters the soundbyte: "The FBI's decision to reopen their criminal investigation into Hillary Clinton's secret email server just 11 days before the election shows how serious this discovery must be. This stunning development raises serious questions about what records may not have been turned over and why, and whether they show intent to violate the law." On Oct. 29 amid allegations that the failed coup in Montenegro was planned in Serbia by Russian spies, Serbian authorities announce the discovery of a weapons stockpile near the residence of PM Aleksandar Vucic, raising tensions. On Oct. 31 25-y.-o. Palestinian Muslim policeman Muhammad 'Abd Al-Khaleq Turkman attacks Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in Beit El, Israel, injuring three, after which Fatah praises him. On Oct. 31 (499th anniv. of Martin Luther's Nailing of the 95 Theses to the Church Door in Wittenberg) Pope Francis and Lutheran World Federation pres. Mounib Younan sign a concordat calling for a dialogue to pursue full unity - reunion, or sell-out to Satan? On Oct. 31 the comedy horror series Stan Against Evil debuts on IFC for ? episodes (until ?), starring John C. McGinley as Stanley Miller, the former sheriff of a haunted N.H. town built on the site of a mass witch-burning, who was forced to resign after a violent outburst at his wife Claire's funeral, and Janet Varney as new sheriff Evie Barret. In Oct. the Shearer Memo by Clinton friend Cody Shearer is given to the FBI by former British spy Christopher Steele, author of a bogus 35-page anti-Trump dossier. In Oct. DC Comics char. Wonder Woman is announced as the honorary U.N. ambassador for the empowerment of women and girls in accordance with U.N. sustainable development goal #5 ("achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls" adopted in 2015 (fulfillment date 2030); too bad, 1,180 U.N. employees sign a petition protesting the appointment because of Wonder Woman's "overtly sexualized image" that is allegedly not "culturally encompassing or sensitive". In Oct. U.S. unemployment is 4.9% (vs. 5.0% in Sept.), with 161K new jobs; avg. hourly earnings increase 10 cents (0.4%) (2.8% for the year); the report is pub. on Nov. 4. On Nov. 1 Hillary Clinton speaks at a rally in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., going nonlinear at a heckler yelling "Bill Clinton is a rapist", with the fearmongering soundbyte: "I am sick and tired of the negative, dark, divisive, dangerous vision and the anger of people who support Donald Trump"; meanwhile her campaign spends big bucks to saturate the TV with dirty negative ads about Trump? On Nov. 2 Pres. Obama gives an interview to The Tom Moyner Morning Show, begging black voters to turn out for the U.S. pres. election, with the soundbyte: "If you really care about my presidency and what we've accomplished, you are going to go and vote. If we let this thing slip and I've got a situation where my last two months in office are preparing for a transition to Donald Trump, whose staff people have said that their primary agenda is to have him, in the first couple weeks, sit in the Oval Office and reverse every single thing that we've done ... even going on the Tom Joyner cruise won't help me then. If I'm on the cruise, I might jump off." On Nov. 3 Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Selma, N.C., blasting Pres. Obama for campaigning for Hillary Clinton, with the soundbytes: "We are led by stupid people, and one of them is campaigning too much... Why isn't he back in the White House bringing our jobs back?"; meanwhile on Nov. 4 Obama commutes the sentences of 72 more mainly nonviolent drug offenders, bringing the total to 944, incl. 760 this year. On Nov. 3 after kidnapping a 14-y.-o. girl in Tempe, Ariz. in 1986 and serving 14 years, then killing Charles Carver and chaining his babe Kala Brown to a shipping container in a makeshift dungeon for 2 mo. before being found, Fla.-born hi-IQ computer science degree holder and real estate agent Todd Christopher Kohlhepp (1971-) is arrested, and convicted for seven murders in S.C. since 2003, receiving seven consecutive life sentences without parole; on Dec. 10, 2017 he claims to have "more than seven" victims. On Nov. 4 a PKK car bomb near a police HQ in the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbaki in SE Turkey kills one and injures 30+. On Nov. 5 Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Reno, Nev., where somebody shouts "gun" and he is rushed off the stage by the Secret Service, after which it proves to be a false alarm. On Nov. 5 ISIS releases a video warning Am. Muslims not to vote in the Nov. 8 U.S. pres. election, calling those who do apostates, and calling instead for them to kill all voters. On Nov. 6 FBI dir. James Comey announces that the FBI has not changed its July conclusion to not recommend prosecution of Hillary Clinton for her email habits, pissing-off Donald Trump, who calls this proof that the system is rigged, uttering the soundbyte: "Hillary Clinton is guilty. She knows it, the FBI knows it, the people know it, and now it's up to the American people to deliver justice at the ballot box on November 8th." On Nov. 7 the U.N. Climate Megaconference in Marrakesh, Morocco. On Nov. 7 Dem. gov. Terry McAuliffe uses an autopen to pardon 60K felons just in time to vote for fellow Dem. Hillary Clinton. On Nov. 8 (Tues.) after most pollsters give Hillary Clinton a 90%+ chance of victory, and her people pop champagne corks in the morning, considering a win in the bag, the 2016 U.S. pres. election makes a monkey out of the shamelessly biased pro-Hillary pollsters, with maverick Repub. billionaire Donald John Trump (1946-) and running mate Michael Richard "Mike" Pence (1959-) defeating Dem. establishment candidate Hillary Clinton and running mate Tim Kaine by 306-232 electoral votes (59,131,310 votes to 59,293,071), winning every battleground state (Fla., Iowa, Mich., N.C., Ohio, Penn., Wisc.) and 3,084 of 3,141 U.S counties despite Hillary raising $521M and spending $237M on TV ads and $42M on hundreds of staffers, vs. $270M spent by Trump; Trump becomes the oldest person to be elected to a first term as U.S. pres. (vs. 69-y.-o. Ronald Reagan in 1980); the first time that three U.S. presidents are born the same year (Bill Clinton, George W. Bush); the 5th U.S. pres. born in New York (Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt), and 2nd born in New York City (Theodore Roosevelt); 4th U.S. pres. to win despite losing his home state (James K. Polk, Woodrow Wilson, Richard Nixon); during the night of Nov. 8/9 the Canadian govt. immigration Web site crashes; the Repubs. gain control of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House along with the White House for the first time since 1929; no surprise, after the newly-exposed biased liberal media kept asking Trump if he would accept a win by Hillary, there are massive anti-Trump protests around the U.S. by diehard leftists, along with secession movements in Calif. and Tex., and petitions asking the Electoral College to pick Clinton anyway. On Nov. 10 (11:00 a.m.) pres.-elect Donald Trump meets with Pres. Obama for 1-1/2 hours in the White House, after which Obama calls the meeting "excellent", with the soundbyte: "As I said last night my number one priority in the coming two months is trying to facilitate a transition that ensures our president-elect is successful. I have been very encouraged by the, I think, interest in President-elect Trump's wanting to work with my team around many of the issues that this great country faces, and I believe that it is important for all of us, regardless of party and regardless of political preferences to now come together, to work together... I want to emphasize to you as president-elect that we are now going to want to do everything to help you succeed because if you succeed the country succeeds"; too bad, after influence by Trump-hating Michelle Obama, the traditional photo-op with the two first couples outside the White House S entrance is cancelled; Obama warns Trump not to hire retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn because of recurring connections with Russia, which Trump ignores, ending up firing him 24 days later. On Nov. 8 the 2016 Washington, D.C. statehood referendum sees 86% of voters (244K out of 284K) vote to advise the city council to petition Congress to admit the District of Columbia as the 51st state. On Nov. 10 the U.S. stock market zooms to an all-time high, with the Dow Jones Industrial Avg. rising 163.30 points (0.9%) to 18,752.99 (beating the Aug. 15 record), the Standard and Poor 500 Index rising 0.9% to 2,181.50, and banks rising 3.7%. On Nov. 12 a Taliban suicide bomber dressed as a worker denotes at the NATO Bagram Air Base N of Kabul, Afghanistan, killing four Americans and injuring 17 incl. a Polish soldier. On Nov. 12, 2016 5'3" small-time drug dealer James Dale Ritchie (b. 1976) is killed in a shootout with the police after murdering 5+ victims with his Colt Python since July 3. On Nov. 13 (Sun.) Donald Trump appoints Stephen K. Bannon as White House chief strategist and senior counselor, and RNC chmn. Reince Priebus as White House chief of staff; the Bannon appointment really pisses-off the liberal media because of his anti-Islamic stance, which they turn into white supremacist; meanwhile Trump announces that he will only take a $1/year salary as U.S. pres. On Nov. 13 France marks the first anniv. of the Paris Muslim attacks; the Bataclan Theater reopens with a concert by Sting; two members of the band Eagles of Death Metal are prevented from entering because they dared to criticize Islam; the last song of the concer is "Insh' Allah" (If Allah Wills). On Nov. 14 Pres. Obama gives his first press conference since the election, flopping about Donald Trump being unfit for office but never admitting that he has the right temperament to be trusted with the nuclear codes, with the soundbytes: "There are going to be certain aspects of his temperament that will not serve him well unless he recognizes them"; "Reality has a way of asserting itself"; "I don't think he is ideological. I think ultimately he's pragmatic, in that way. And that can serve him well", "It will be up to him to set up a team that he thinks will serve him well and reflect his policies", and he should "try to send some signals of unity and reach out to minority groups or women or others that were concerned about the tenor of the campaign." On Nov. 14 a Supermoon occurs as the full Moon is the closest to Earth since 1948; next in 2034. On Nov. 14 after Stockholm's leftist politicians implement a "gender-equal" system of snow removal during the prior week, which ends in disaster, incl. a 4x increase in broken bones from slip-and-fall, vice-mayor Daniel Hellden of the Green Party apologizes. On Nov. 15 lame duck Pres. Obama visits Greece, followed on Nov. 17 by Germany, using his platform in a final push to open Europe to mass Muslim immigration, uttering the soundbyte beside German chancellor Angela Merkel: "Voting matters, organizing matters, and being informed on the issues matter", advising people to not remain "silent" but to go on and protest Trump. On Nov. 15 the U.S. Congress passes the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2016, a package of sanctions against the regime of Syrian pres. Bashar al-Assad, sending a strong message to the Trump admin.; meanwhile the House passes a 10-year extension to the Iran Sanctions Act. On Nov. 15 the U.S. Geological Survey announces the discovery of the Wolfcamp Shale in C Tex., with an estimated 20B barrels of oil and 1.6B barrels of natural gas, becoming the largest untapped oil reserves in the U.S. On Nov. 17 Donald Trump appoints U.S. lt. gen. Michael Thomas "Mike" Flynn (1958-), former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) (a registered Dem.) as U.S. nat. security advisor #25; he ends up serving just 24 days, Jan. 20-Feb. 13, 2017. On Nov. 17 French fashion designer Sophie Theallet (1964-) pub. a Tweet announcing that she will refuse to "dress" new First Lady Melania Trump like she does Michelle Obama, saying that her "brand stands against all discrimination and prejudice" - except hers? On Nov. 18 Donald Trump settles the lawsuits against over defunct Trump U. for $25M, without admitting guilt. On Nov. 18 (eve.) Mike Pence attends a performance of the Broadway musical Hamilton at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway, getting booed by the audience; at the end Brandon Victor Dixon, who plays Aaron Burr addresses him from the stage, with the soundbyte: "We, sir, we are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir." On Nov. 19 Pres. Andrzei Duda and the Roman Catholic bishops of Poland declare Jesus Christ as the king of Poland in a ceremony at the Church of Divine Mercy in Cracow, calling upon him to rule over their nation; meanwhile Pope Francis elevates Detroit, Mich.-born archbishop of Indianapolis, Ind. (since 2012) Joseph William Tobin (1952-) to cardinal as a "surprise pick" and "political message" because he's a critic of Ind. gov. Mike Pence, who wants to bar Syrian refugees from the state; in 2017 he moves to Newark, N.J. On Nov. 22 (Who Killed Kennedy Day) Donald Trump meets with reps of the liberal biased mainstream media, incl. CNN head Jeff Zucker, Meet the Press host Chuck Todd, Hillary lover George Stephanopoulos, Wolf Bltzer, Martha Raddatz, Gayle King, and Lester Holt, dressing them down for attempting to throw the election to Hillarious Clownton, telling Zucker: "I hate your network. Everyone at CNN is a liar, and you should be ashamed." On Nov. 23 after a bad drought that began in 2007, the Great E Tenn. Wildfire of 2016 in the Great Smoky Mts. begins, threatening Gatlinburg et al.; ends ? On Nov. 24 (Thur.) (Thanksgiving) U.S. Navy senior chief petty officer Scott Cooper Dayton (b. 1974) is KIA by an IED in Syria, becoming the first U.S. service member KIA in Syria since the war against ISIS began. On Nov. 24 brushfires in Haifa, Israel cause thousands to flee, causing suspicions of Palestinian arson. Castro couldn't bear facing The Donald so he checked out? On Nov. 25 Cuban dictator (since Jan. 1, 1959) Fidel Castro (b. 1926) croaks in Havana, sparking massive celebrations in Little Havana, Miami, Fla.; Pres. Obama utters the soundbyte: "Fidel Castro was a larger than life leader who served his people for almost half a century... Both Mr. Castro's supporters and detractors recognized his tremendous dedication and love for the Cuban people, who had a deep and lasting affection for 'El Commandante'. I know my father was very proud to call him a friend, and I had the opportunity to meet Fidel when my father passed away", which Fla. Repub. Sen. Marco Rubo blasts as "a pathetic statement on the death of a dictator... with no mention of thousands he killed and imprisoned"; U.S. pres.-elect Donald Trump utters the soundbyte: "Today, the world marks the passing of a brutal dictator who oppressed his own people for nearly six decades. Fidel Castro's legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights." On Nov. 27 (Sun.) the 2017 French pres. primary runoff is a V for centrist former PM (2007-12) Francois Charles Amand Fillon (1954-) (fast car lover) over Alan Juppe; his patriotism and opposition to more Muslim immigration takes votes from Marine Le Pen's Nat. Front? On Nov. 27 the first ISIS attack on Israel sees Israel retaliate with an air strke, killing four ISIS terrorists on the Golan Heights. On Nov. 28 (9:52 a.m. EST) 18-y.-o. Muslim Somali refugee student Abdul Razak Ali Artan (b. 1998) stages a car-knife killing spree on the gun-free campus of Ohio State U., injuring nine before being shot dead by police; Donald Trump tweets the soundbyte that he "should not have been in our country" - did anybody hear an Allah Akbar? On Nov. 28 a chartered plane en route from Brazil to Medellin, Colombia carrying most of the Cinderella Chapecoense soccer team crashes, killing 71 of 77 aboard after a mechanical or electrical failure. On Nov. 28 former U.S. pres. Jimmy Carter pub. an op-ed in the New York Times, urging lame duck Pres. Obama to join 137 countries and recognize the fake Muslim jihadist state of Palestine, with the soundbyte: "I fear for the spirit of Camp David. We must not squander this chance." On Nov. 29 Carrier Corp. announces that it has reached a deal with Trump to save 1.1K jobs in Indianapolis, Ind., causing Trump and Pence to visit them on Dec. 1. On Nov. 30 predominantly Christian Slovakia passes a law banning Islam as an officially recognized religion, preventing it from receiving state subsidies. In Nov. Denver, Colo. becomes the first U.S. city to legalize social marijuana use. On Dec. 1 U.S. pres.-elect Donald T. Rump, er, Donald J. Trump holds his first thank-you rally in Cincinnati, Ohio, announcing his appointment of James "Mad Dog" Mathis as U.S. defense secy., uttering the soundbyte "We shattered that blue wall". On Dec. 1 Am. Muslim Yasmin Seweid (1998-), a student at Baruch College claims to be attacked on a New York City subway by three white men, who told her "you don't belong here" and called her hijab a "rag"; on Dec. 14 after it is exposed as a hoax, police arrest her for filing a false report. On Dec. 2 U.S. pres.-elect Donald Trump speaks on the telephone with Taiwan pres. Tsai Ing-wen, pissing-off the Chinese, who lodge a protest with the U.S. On Dec. 3 the $2.6B electric attack sub USS Colorado (SSN-788) is launched, and commissioned on Mar. 17, 2018; its flag looks like the Denver Broncos? On Dec. 4 after the Pizzagate conspiracy theory spreads on the Internet, based on emails by John Podesta leaked by WikiLeaks, claiming a pedophile ring in the Dem. Party (incl. the Clintons), 28-y.-o. Edgar Welch (1988-) from Salisbury, N.C. fires three shots at the Comet Ping Pong restaurant in Washington, D.C. with an AR-15-style assault rifle. On Dec. 5 after his proposed consitutional changes are rejected, becoming a D for the EU, Italian PM #56 (since Feb. 22, 2014) Matteo Renzi (b. 1975) announces his resignation; meanwhile Italian actress Paola Saulino (1989-) goes on her Pompa (It. "pump") Tour to keep her promise of giving beejays to those who voted no. On Dec. 6 German chancellor Angela Merkel tries to damp moves by her own party to oust her for her Muslim immigration policy by announcing that she wants to ban burqas. On Dec. 6 Repub. lawmakers call on the Obama admin. to reverse the "unprecedented" decision to hide details of a transfer agreement for 2.4K assorted Muslim refugees that Australia doesn't want. On Dec. 6 Donald Trump announces a deal with Softbank Group CEO Masayoshi Son to invest up to $50B in the U.S., creating 50K new jobs in telecommunications. On Dec. 6 Pres. Obama gives a Final Speech on Islam at MacDill AFB in Tampa, Fla., making his last effort to make America accept Muslims by disregarding their horrible religion's dictates and history, or judging their ideology incl. jihad and Sharia, with the soundbytes: "We are fighting terrorists who claim to fight on behalf of Islam, but they do not speak for over a billion Muslims around the world. And they do not speak for American Muslims, including many who wear the uniform of the United States of America's military. If we stigmatize good patriotic Muslims, that just feeds the terrorist narrative. It fuels the same false grievances that they use to motivate people to kill"; :If we act like this is a war between the United States and Islam, we;re not just going to lose more Americans to terrorist attacks, but we'll also lose sight of the very principles we claim to defend... So let me final words to you as your commander in chief, be a reminder of what it is you're fighting for, what it is that we are fighting for. The United States of America is not a country that imposes religious tests as a price for freedom. We;re a country that was founded so that people could practice their faiths as they choose. The United States of America is not a place where some citizens have to withstand greater scrutiny or carry a special ID card or prove that they're not an enemy from within"; "We;re a country that has bled and struggled and sacrificed against that kind of discrimination and arbitrary rule, here in our own country and around the world. We're a nation that believes freedom can never be taken for granted, and that each of us has a responsibility to sustain it. The universal right to speak your mind and to protest against authority, to live in a society that's open and free, that can criticize a president without retribution. A country where you're judged by the content of your character rather than what you look like, or how you worship, or what your last name is, or where your family came from. That's what separates us from tyrants and terrorists." On Dec. 7 the 75th anniv. of the Pearl Harbor attack is the last major observance. On Dec. 7 Time mag. names Donald Trump their 2016 Person of the Year; in 2015 he was runner-up to German chancellor Angela Merkel. On Dec. 9 a bomb attack near the pyramids in Giza, Egypt at a police checkpoint kills six policemen; on Dec. 12 an explotion at a Coptic cathedral in Cairo kills 22 and injures 35. On Dec. 10 (10:30 p.m.) two explosions in central Istanbul, Turkey outside Besiktas Stadium kill 13+ and injure dozens. On Dec. 10 less than two weeks after OPEC members agree to oil production cuts (486K barrels/day), Russia et al. agree in Vienna to join OPEC nations to oil output cuts of 558K barrels/day in an attempt to raise drooping oil prices, which fell below $30/barrel last winter. On Dec. 11 a bipartisan group of U.S. senators incl. Repubs. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, and Dems. Chuck Schumer and Jack Reed call for a congressional probe into whether Russia influences the U.S. pres. election for Trump, whose team replies: "These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. The election ended a long time ago in one of the biggest Electoral College victories in history. It's now time to move on and Make America Great Again." On Dec. 12 U.S. secy. of state John Kerry secretly meets with PLO exec secy. Saeb Erekat and Palestinian intel chief Majid Faraj on the upcoming U.N. resolution against Israel; on Dec. 13 U.S. nat. security advisor Susan Rice meets with them, followed by reps of the secys. of state and homeland security, and dir. of the CIA, agreeing "to cooperate in drafting a resolution on the settlements", which becomes U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334 of Dec. 23; on Dec. 27 after Kerry, Pres. Obama et al. deny any collusion, the Egyptian daily Al-Youm Al-Sabi' releases minutes of the meetings. On Dec. 13 Aleppo, Syria falls to the forces of Bashar al-Assad, who commit atrocities incl. mass executions and burning children alive. On Feb. 14 a planned closed briefing of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee briefing by the U.S. intel community incl. the CIA, FBI, NSA, and dir. of nat. intel on allegations of Russian interference in the U.S. election is cancelled, pissing them off, with U.S. rep. (R-N.Y) Peter King uttering the soundbyte: "Somebody has the time to leak it to The Washington Post and The New York Times, but they don't have the time to come to Congress. It's their job to come. They don't have any choice. They have to come in, especially when they have created this." On Dec. 15 the Chinese navy seizes a U.S. Navy drone in the South China sea 175 nmi. NW of Subic Bay, Philippines. On Dec. 15 sore loser Hillary Clinton makes her first public comments that she won't dispute the election results NOT, with the soundbyte that Russian pres. Vladimir attempted to "undermine our democracy" because he had a "personal beef" with her, claiming "It's part of a long-term strategy to cause us to doubt ourselves" - your endless lies don't? On Dec. 16 (early a.m.) 40 jihadists attack a military post in N Burkina Faso 19 mi. from the Malian border, killing 11 soldiers and one gendarme. On Dec. 16 First Lady Michelle Obama gives her final White House interview to Oprah Winfrey, putting a bookend on her 2008 remarks that "For the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback", with the soundbyte: "Now we're feeling what not having hope feels like. Hope is necessary", adding that she wishes that a "grownup" should be in charge of the country instead of you know who. On Dec. 16 Pres. Obama gives his last press conference of 2016, accusing Russian pres. Vladimir Putin of cyberattacks attempting to interfere with the U.S. election, claiming that when he told him in Sept. to "cut it out" they stopped, hampering Dem. efforts to sway Repub. electors against Trump. On Dec. 16 Pres. Obama signs the U.S. Frank R. Wolf Internat. Religious Freedom Act, amending the 1998 U.S. Religious Freedom Act to to protect atheists and non-theists. On Dec. 18 Ariz. Repub. RINO Sen. John McCain gives an interview to CNN's "State of the Union", claiming that Russian hacking of the 2016 election threatens to "destroy democracy" - duh, how many votes did Putin get? Is he calling for war? On Dec. 18 Jordanian security forces free tourists trapped inside the Crusder-era Kerak Castle in Jordan after a shootout with Islamists that kills nine. On Dec. 18 an 8-y.-o. girl suicide bomber detonates at a police station in Damascus, Syria, killing her and injuring one policeman. On Dec. 19 after calls by the Dems. to ignore the vote counts and blame the Russians for rigging the election to vote for Hillary instead of Trump, the U.S. Electoral College votes for Trump anyway by 304 vs. 227 for Clinton; four electors in Wash. flop on Clinton, voting for Colin Powell, and one votes for environmental activist Faith Spotted Eagle of S.D.; two Repub. electors in Tex. flop on Trump; one Dem. elector in Hawaii flops on Clinton, voting for Bernie Sanders; one elector in Colo. tries to vote for John Kasich, but it backfires. On Dec. 19 snow falls in the Sahara Desert in Ain Sefra, Algeria, becoming the first time since Feb. 1979. On Dec. 19 Miriam-Webster announces its word of the year as "surreal" (referring to the 2016 pres. election victory of Donald Trump), which beat out Donald Trump's "bigly" (he really said "big league"?) and Hillary Clinton's "deplorable". On Dec. 19 the cover of Nat. Geographic features Avery Jackson (2007-), who lived as a boy until 2012, becoming their first transgender cover model. On Dec. 19 (eve.) Russian ambassador to Turkey (since July 12, 2013) Andrei (Andrey) Gennadyevich Karlov (b. 1954) is shot in the back and killed while delivering a speech at an art gallery in Ankara, Turkey by off-duty Islamist Turkish pig, er, police offer Mevlut Mert Altintas, who yells "Don't forget Aleppo" and "Allahu Akbar"; Russia calls it a terrorist act. On Dec. 19 (8:02 p.m. local time) Tunisian Islamist Anis Amri (b. 1992) plows a rented Polish-registered truck into the largest Christmas market in Breitscheidplatz Square near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin, Germany, killing 12 and injuring 56; the suspected driver is arrested nearby, then released, and another person is found dead in the cab; ISIS claims responsibility; on Dec. 23 Amri is killed by police in Sesto San Giovanni, Milan, Italy; Pres. Obama protected Amri for months before the attack? On Dec. 22 the Obama admin. announces the scrapping of the Nat. Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEER) for immigrant men from predominantly Muslim countries, which they stopped using in 2011. On Dec. 23 (one hour before Sabbath on the U.S. East Coast) after Egypt withdraws it under pressure from Israel, and the backstabbing Obama admin. breaks with tradition and abstains, giving the green light, the U.N. Security Council votes 14-0-1 (incl. New Zealand, Malaysia, Senegal, and Venezuela) to adopt U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334, demanding an end to Israeli settlements in E Jerusalem, affecting 500K, standing and applauding afterwards to rub it in, pissing-off Donald Trump, who tweets: "As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th"; on Dec. 24 Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu calls it a "shameful ambush"; Am. Jewish leader Alan Dershowitz finally turns on Obama, calling him the worst president ever, with the soundbyte: "He called me into the Oval Office before the election and said to me, 'Alan, I want your support. And I have to tell you, I will always have Israel's back.' I didn't realize that what he meant was that he'd... stab them in the back"; U.S. Sen. (R-S.C.) (2003-) Lindsey Graham, chmn. of the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations of the Senate Appropriations Committee utters the soundbyte that Obama "has gone from naive and foolish to flat-out reckless", adding: "With friends like these, Israel doesn't need any enemies", threatening to defund the U.N.; the first time a U.S. pres. abstains on a U.N. anti-Israel resolution during his last month in office; on Jan. 16 Trump gives an interview to Steve Kroft of 60 Minutes, admitting that he ordered the abstention vote, with the soundbyte: "I don't think it caused a major rupture in relations between the United States and Israel. If you're saying that Prime Minister Netanyahu got fired up, he's been fired up repeatedly during the course of my presidency." On Dec. 23 Donald Trump pub. a letter he received from Vladimir Putin dated Dec. 15, containing the wish that he hopes to "bring our level of collaboration on the international scene to a qualitatively new level", praising him with the soundbyte "His thoughts are so correct"; on Dec. 23 Putin holds a press conference, dissing Hillary and the Dems. for blaming their loss on Russian hacking, calling them sore losers and adding that FDR would be turning in his grave. On Dec. 24 Nigerian pres. Muhammadu Buhari announces that the jihadist group Boko Haram has been driven from its last forest stronghold and is on the run, with no place to hide. On Dec. 24-25 (weekend) a surge in gang violence in Chicago, Ill. sees 27 shot and 12 killed. On Dec. 25 (2:00 a.m.) a gang of seven Muslim immigrant youths from Libya and Syria set a 37-y.-o. homeless sleeping man on fire in the Schoenleinstrasse underground station; luckily, a train driver uses a fire extinguisher to save him. On Dec. 26 Pope Francis gives his Feast of St. Stephen blessing in St. Peter's Square, uttering the soundbyte that there are more Christian martyrs now than in the early days of the Church. On Dec. 27 Pres. Obama and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe visit the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, becoming the first visit by a Japanese leader since the Dec. 7, 1941 attack. On Dec. 28 U.S. secy. of state John Kerry gives a 70-min. 9,490-word speech defending the U.S. decision to stab Israel in the back in the U.N., with the excuse that friends must tell each other hard truths and that a 2-state solution is the "only way to ensure Israel's future as a Jewish and democratic state", dissing Benjamin Natanyahu and his coalition as "the most right-wing in Israel's history, with an agenda driven by the most extreme elements", adding that Israel can either be Jewish or democratic, but not both - in which case democracy-hating world domination Muslims will only enhance democracy by mass immigration to not only Israel but the entire West? On Dec. 28 Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu issues a reply to Kerry's speech, calling it "almost as unbalanced" as the U.N. resolution, with the soundbytes: "Israelis do not need to be lectured about the importance of peace by foreign leaders. Israel's hand has been extended in peace to its neighbors from day one, from its very first day. We've prayed for peace, we've worked for it every day since then"; "In a speech ostensibly about peace between Israelis and Palestinians, Secretary Kerry paid lip service to the unremitting campaign of terrorism that has been waged by the Palestinians against the Jewish state for nearly a century. What he did was spend most of his speech blaming Israel for the lack of peace, by passionately condemning a policy of enabling Jews to live in their history homeland, and in their eternal capital Jerusalem"; "Hundreds of suicide bombings, thousands, tens of thousands of rockets, millions of Israelis in bomb shelters are not throwaway lines in a speech. They are the realities that the people of Israel had to endure because of mistaken policies, policies that at the time won the thunderous applause of the world"; he then angles for future partnership with pro-Israel pres. Trump, with the soundbytes: "Our alliance is based on shared values, shared interests, a sense of shared destiny, and a partnership that has endured differences of opinions between our two governments over the best way to advance peace and stability in the Middle East"; "I have no doubt that our alliance will endure the profound disagreement we have had with the Obama administration, and will become even stronger in the future." On Dec. 28 the Obama admin. announces the 1.35M-acre Bear Ears Nat. Monument in SE Utah and the 300K-acre Gold Butte Nat. Monument near Las Vegas, Nev. On Dec. 30 the lame duck Obama admin. expels 35 Russian diplomats from the U.S. plus other actions to punish Russia for allegedly hacking the U.S. pres. election; Vladimir Putin responds that he won't retaliate because the lame duck is almost gone and he can better reason with new pres. Trump. In Dec. six black teenies, some of them related gang-rape a 13-y.-o. girl in the Stonebrook Terrace Apts. in Colorado Springs, Colo., rendering her unable to bear children; Tyron Williams is sentenced to 10 years to life; too bad, rapists Tommy and Clarence Williams are only sentenced to probation, causing a public outcry. In Dec. Ariz. Sheriff Joe Arpaio reveals that Obama's alleged long form birth certificate was copied from that of Johanna Ah'nee. In Dec. U.S. unemployment is 4.7% (vs. 4.6% in Nov.), with 156K new jobs created, incl. 17K in manufacturing, which drop by 45K over the year from 12.32M to 12.275M, while govt. jobs grow 12K from 22.211M to 22.223M. The New Oxford Ed. of Shakespeare gives Christopher Marlowe credit for co-writing the Henry VI trilogy with William Shakeseare. The Mormon Church releases the first photos of the magic stone allegedly used by Joseph Smith to translate the sacred text of the Book of Mormon, a brown egg-sized rock - and it won't talk? Canadian clinical psychologist Jordan Bernt Peterson (1962-) begins releasing videos on YouTube criticizing Marxist-driven political correctness incl. Canadian Bill C-16 and white privilege, causing a firestorm of controversy and making him a celeb. Architecture: On June 1 Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland opens with a bizarre Satanic ceremony?; it will reach speeds of 250 km/hr and cut 1 hour off the travel time between Milan and Zurich, saving 1M trucks a year doing the same job; it took 17 years to build. On Sept. 10 Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (cap. 18.6K) opens as the home of the NHL Edmonton Oilers. On Sept. 24 Pres. Obama dedicates the Smithsonian Institution's Nat. Museum of African Am. History and Culture on the Nat. Mall in Washington, D.C. (opened Dec. 19, 2003), featuring the Contemplative Court, complete with a cylindrical fountain raining down from a skylight to the center of the room. The Louvre Abu Dhabi in UAE opens. The 5.5M sq. ft. Tesla Gigafactory near Sparks, Nev. opens. Sports: In Jan. a delegation from Middle Eastern countries Israel, Iran, Libya, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia arrives in Switzerland to lobby the Internat. Olympic Committee to make camel racing an Olympic sport, with Internat. Camel Racing Federation (ICRAC) chmn. Sheikh Jamaal bin Tamim Al Thani of Qatar uttering the soundbyte: "Camel racing is hugely popular across nearly 40 countries that together account for over two billion people... It's blatant discrimination that obscure, colonial sports like Badminton have a spot, and not our ancient sport." On Feb. 3 robot golfer LDRIC (named after Eldrick "Tiger" Woods) hits a hole-in-one on the 16th hole of the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Ariz. On Feb. 17 after comparing gay sex to animals, boxing champ Manny Pacquaio is fired by Nike from his endorsement contract (begun 2006), joining Lance Amstrong, Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, and Oscar Pistorius. On Feb. 21 the 2016 (58th) Daytona 500 is won by Joe Gibbs Racing driver (#11) James Dennis Alan "Denny" Hamlin (1980-), who beats Denver Furniture Row driver (#78) Martin Lee Truex Jr. (1980-) by 0.011 sec, closest in Daytona 500 history (until ?). On Mar. 7 Denver Broncos QB Peyton Manning announces his retirement, with a record 539 TD passes, 71,940 passing yards, and 200 wins; he wears black high-top shoes to honor his hero Johnny Unitas, and ends with the exclamation "Omaha!" In the spring NFL and college football players begin using the new Zero1 Football Helmet, designed to reduce the risk of concussions. On June 27-July 10 the 2016 (130th) Wimbledon Championships see two-time defending champ Novak Djokovic lose in the 3rd round to Sam Querrey, ending a 30-match Grand Slam winning streak along with his hopes of becoming the first man to achieve the golden calendar slam; Andy Murray goes on to win the gentleman's singles title, and Serena Williams defends her ladies' singles title, equalling Steffi graf's record of 22 major singles titles in the Open Era. On Aug. 26 (Fri.) during a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers in Santa Clara, Calif., San Francisco 49ers biracial QB Colin Kaepernick (known for practicing in cop pig socks) refuses to stand for the U.S. nat. anthem, with the soundbyte: "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder", stirring a firestorm of controversy, after which Jeremy Lane of the Seattle Seahawks sits during the anthem before a preseason game on Sept. 1, Brandon Marshall of the Denver Broncos kneels during the anthem during the season opener against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 8, Marcus Peters of the Kansas City Chiefs stands for the anthem before the season opener on Sept. 11 against the San Diego Chargers while raising his right fist, and four Dolphins players incl. RB Arian Foster kneel before the entire Seattle Seahwaks team stands while linking arms for the nat. anthem before their season opener against the Miami Dolphins. On Sept. 12 the NCAA announces that it is relocated seven championship events from N.C. during the 2016-17 academic yedar in protest of its public potty law - I don't give a shit? On Sept. 28 after signing with the New York Mets, former football star Tim Tebow hits a homer with his first pitch and first at-bat in an instructional league game against the St. Louis Cardinals in St. Lucie, Fla. thrown by 6'5" lefty pitcher John Kilichoswki. In Sept. the USA Gymnastics Sex Abuse Scandal breaks, with over 150 nat. gymnastics team members incl. Jeanette Antolin, Simone Billes, Jamie Dantzscher, Rachael Denhollander, Gabby Douglas, Maggie Nichols, Aly Raisman, and Jordyn Wieber blowing the whistle on team osteopathic physician Larry Gerard Nassar (1963-) for sexual abuse by massaging their immature sex organs under the guise of medical treatment; in Mar. 2017 USA Gymnastics pres. Steve Penny resigns; in Dec. 2016 the FBI finds 37K child porno images on his computer, pleading guilty on July 22, 2017 to federal child porno charges, after which on Dec. 7, 2017 he is sentenced to 60 years in prison; on Nov. 22 and Nov. 29, 2017 he pleads guilty to 10 charges of sexual assault; on Jan. 24, 2018 after days of witch, er, hunt-style victim impact statements, he is sentenced to 40-175 more years in prison; meanwhile USA Gymnastics and Mich. State U. are sued while avoiding criminal charges - he never actually raped anybody, hence he should have received only 1 year in jail plus probation, with the child porno sentence ditto, but women like to make themselves and children into victims and have men burned at the stake, and the PC press ate it up? On Oct. 16 85-y.-o. Ed Whitlock runs a record 3:56:33.2 at the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon in Toronto, Canada. On Dec. 25 (Sun.) after starting them on a losing streak with an OT field goal on Nov. 27, the 8-6 Denver Broncos' playoff chances are ended by their rival the 10-4 Kansas City Chiefs when 345 lb. nose tackle (#92) Dontari Poe (1990-) tricks the defense into thinking he's going to try a QB sneak and instead pooches the ball to Demetrius Harris, becoming the largest player in NFL history to throw a TD pass (until ?), and the first to record a sack and a TD in the same season. In the 2016 NFL season all stadiums are required to have metal detectors for fans. Nobel Prizes: Peace: Juan Manuel Santos Calderon (Calderón) (1951-) (Colombia) [peace treaty with FARC guerrillas]; Lit.: Bob Dylan (Robert Allen Zimmerman) (1941-) (U.S.) ["for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition"]; Physics: David James Thouless (1934-) (Britain), Frederick Duncan Michael Haldane (1952-) (Britain), and John Michael Kosterlitz (1943-) (Britain/U.S.) [topological phase transitions and phases of matter in condensed matter physics]; Chem.: Jean-Pierre Sauvage (1944-) (France), Sir James Fraser Stoddart (1942-) (U.S.), and Bernard Lucas "Ben" Feringa (1951) (Netherlands) [design and synthesis of molecular machines]. Med.: Yoshinori Ohsumi (1945-) (Japan) [mechanisms for autophagy]; Econ.: Oliver Simon D'Arcy Hart (1948-) (Britain/U.S.) and Bengt Robert Holmstrom (Holmström) (1949-) (Finland) [contract theory]. Inventions: The dawn of the Drone Age? On Jan. 7 the U.S. Air Force Intranet Control (AFINC) Weapon System at Peterson AFB, Colo. becomes the first cyberspace weapon to attain full operational capability. On Mar. 9-15 the AlphaGo AI computer program by DeepMind Technologies defeats world 9-dan prof. Go champ Lee Sedol in five games at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, South Korea, proving that people are too stupid to beat computers in fixed-rules games; on Mar. 13 after figuring out its weakness, Sedol wins game #5, but resigns in game #5, losing the match 4-1; in 2017 AlphaGo defeats world Go champ Ke Jie in three games; Deepmind then retires AlphaGo and sells it to Google, developing AlphaGo Zero and AlphaZero; the documentary film AlphaGo by Greg Kohs is released on Sept. 29, 2017. On Mar. 15 Nike announces the first power-lacing sneaker, complete with anti-clog traction, in time to fulfill the prophesy in the 1989 film "Back to the Future Part II"; meanwhile after a patent suit filed by Segway, the U.S. Internat. Trade Commission (ITC) bans "personal transporters" (hoverboards). On Mar. 25 Microsoft apologizes for its Twitter AI chatbot Tay after users feed it with pro-Hitler material and it begins spewing it back. On Apr. 27 SpaceX announces plans to land a 6-ton spacecraft on the surface of Mars, exceeding NASA's Curiosity in size (.9 tons). On May 22 the 227.7K GT 362.12m Oasis-class cruise ship MS Harmony of the Seas makes its maiden voyage, becoming the world's largest passenger ship (until ?). In July the Airbus E-Fan 1.2 electric hybrid experimental airliner debuts at the AirVenture air show; too bad, the FAA won't allow it to fly. On Sept. 8 (23:05 GMT) the $800M NASA Lockheed-Martin OSIRIS-Rex (Origins, Spectral Instrumentation, Resources Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer) spacecraft launches from Cape Canaveral on a mission to the Bennu asteroid to retrieve 60g of surface material by 2023, becoming the first NASA mission to a near-Earth asteroid to collect samples. On Oct. 24 Microsoft introduces the Surface Studio desktop PC, upstaging Apple for once. On Nov. 19 NASA launches the GOES-R Weather Satellite, which promises to revolutionize forecasting with continuous high-definition views of storms over the Western Hemisphere. Russia launches Luna 25 to the Moon, followed by Luna 26 in 2018, and Luna 27 in 2019. NATO launches its Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, headed by Spain. The SpacexX Falcon 9 rocket launches, landing on the Moon and leaving a special Lunar Dream time capsule containing a can of Pocan Sweat sports drink, becoming the first ad on the Moon, waiting for future lunar explorers to open it and mix it with water and enjoy it. China's Commerical Aircraft Corp. begins producing the 156-seat C919 to compete with the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. IntelligentX Beer Co. of London, England uses AI (artificial intelligence) and user feedback to improve their products. Flash storage becomes cheaper than disk storage. Sports: On Apr. 4 the 2016 NCAA Men's Div. I Basketball Championship Game sees the 34-5 Villanova Wildcats defeat the 33-6 North Carolina Tar Heels by 77-74 after short black guy Marcus Taylor Paige (1993-) of N.C. sinks two 3-pointers to tie with 4.7 sec. remaining, and short white guy Ryan Arcidiacono (1994-) draws the Tar Heels defenders after him while setting up big black guy Kris Jenkins (1993-), who sinks the winning 3-pointer at the buzzer (the Nova play), becoming Villanova's first nat. championship since 1985; former N.C. star Michael Jordan is in the audience. On May 5 (Cinco de Mayo) the 5-5-5 Miracle Game sees the Colorado Rockies score 13 runs in inning 5 against the San Francisco Gigantes (name on their uniforms that night) in seagull-filled AT&T Park, winning 17-7. On May 7 the 2016 (142nd) Kentucky Derby is won by Nyquist (jockey Mario Gutierrez) in 2:02.31, with late-starting Exaggerator closing; on May 21 the 2016 (141st) Preakness Stakes is won by Exaggerator (jockey Kent Desormeaux) in 1:58.31; Nyquist comes in #3; on June 11 the 2016 (148th) Belmont Stakes is won by Creator (jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.) in 2:28.51. On June 2-19 the 2016 NBA Finals see the Cleveland Calviers (coach Tyuronn Lue) defeat the favored Cleveland Cavaliers (coach Steve Kerr) by 4-3 after starting out in a 3-1 hole; LeBron James of Cleveland is MVP. On June 23 the 2016 NBA Draft. Science: On Jan. 13 (2:00 p.m. EST) NASA's Juno spacecraft sets a record for the most distant solar-powered vehicle from the Sun, 493M mi., passing the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft, which peaked at 492M mi. in Oct. 2012 en route to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. On Jan. 20 Terry Sejnowski et al. of the Salk Inst. pub. an article in ELife announcing that the human brain has a memory capacity of at least 1 petabyte (quadrillion bytes), 10x more than previously thought. On Jan. 20 Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown of of Caltech announce a hypothetical (unobserved) 9th solar planet with a highly elliptical orbit 20x the distance to Neptune, with a year of 10K-20K Earth years. On Jan. 26 Enzo Tagliazucchi et al. of the Inst. for Medical Psychology in Kiel, Germany pub. an article in Journal of the Royal Society Interface describing a study of the effect on human brains of anesthetic drugs, suggesting that consciousness requires "cortical integration", a product of a delicate balance of connectivity between neurons. In Jan. Breakthrough Listen is launched with $100M in funding, based at the Berkeley SETI Research Center, becoming the most comprehensive search for extraterrestrial microwave emissions; in Oct. 2019 it begins a collaboration with the team managing the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). On Feb. 9 researchers at 21st Century Medicine (21CM) announce the first successful freezing and thawing of a mammalian (rabbit) brain. On Feb. 11 David Reitze of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) announces the detection of gravitational waves from the collision of two black holes 1.3B l-y. away, also confirming the existence of binary black hole systems; too bad, another team fails to confirm it; after they get confirmation, the 2017 Nobel Physics Prize is awarded to the discoverers. On Feb. 15 Britta Haenisch et al. of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Bonn pub. an article in JAMA Neurology announcing that people age 75+ who regularly take proton pump inhibitors (Prilosec, Nexium, Prevacid) have a 44% increased risk of dementia. On Feb. 17 (3:45 a.m. EST) the NASA ASTRO-H AKA Hitomi (Jap. "pupil of the eye") X-ray space observatory takes off to study black holes and galaxy clusters. On Feb. 19 Virgin Galactic unveils their Unity spaceship for space tourism, touting it as the future of private space travel for ordinary citizens, who will get to float at 50 mi. alt. for a mere $250K; 700 have aleady put down deposits. On Feb. 24 surgeons Andreas Tzakis et al. at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio perform the first uterus transplant in the U.S. on 26-y.-o. Lindsey. On Mar. 1 scientists at Univ. College London pub. an article announcing the discovery of the single gene causing gray hair, which they believe can be turned off. On Mar. 5 Isaac Chuang et al. of MIT pub. an article in Science announcing the creation of a 5-atom quantum computer that can factor the number 15 using Shor's Algorithm. On Mar. 8 the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) announces a $100M project to reverse-engineer 1 cu. mm of brain tissue to discover algorithms that can be used by AI. On Mar. 9 scientists in China pub. an article in Nature announcing the activation of stem cells in a human eye to grow a new lens. On Mar. 10 Christopher Lynn et al. of the U. of Ala. pub. an article that reveals research showing that people who get tattoos boost their immune system. On Mar. 11 an article is pub. in Science revealing that the reason for rising global methane levels since 2007 is fart, er, farming, not fracking, undercutting Pres. Obama's recent pact to cut methane emissions from oil and gas producers by 40%-45% from 2012 levels by 2025. On Mar. 16 Zhi-Gang Shao and Peter D. Ditlevsen of the U. of Copenhagen's Niels Bohr Inst. pub. the article Contrasting scaling properties of interglacial and glacial climates in Nature Communications, based on a study of Earth climate variations back 5M years, finding that climate is chaotic and difficult to predict, but is more stable during the warm interglacial period than during ice ages, the former being monofractal, the latter multifractal. On Mar. 21 P.R. Alexander et al. pub. an article in Nature that speculates that neutron star mergers may be the only way to form many elements heavier than zinc. On Mar. 24 Valda Vinson et al. pub. an article in Science announcing that it takes just 473 genes to make a bacterium. On Mar. 30 Johns Hopkins Medicine performs the first HIV-to-HIV liver transplant. On Apr. 5 scientists at Cambridge U. pub. an article in Nature Materials announcing the detection of the new state of matter called quantum spin liquid, in which electrons break apart. In Apr. James Bornholt et al. of the U. of Wash. pub. a paper describing the first DNA-based archival storage system with random access memory capability. In early May the first penis transplant is performed at Mass. Gen. Hospital on 64-y.-o. Thomas Manning. On May 3 scientists at Cambridge U. pub. an article announcing that they have mapped all the genes that can cause breast cancer. On May 3 researchers at Johns Hopkins U. pub. an article in the British Medical Journal that indicates that medical errors mght be the #3 killer in the U.S. after heart disease and cancer, 250K/year. On May 7 the first fatal crash by a Tesla Model S electric car on autopilot mode happens when a tractor-trailor turns in front of it, killing Joshua Brown (40) of Canton, Ohio. On May 10 NASA scientists announce tht the Kepler Space Telescope has discovered 1,284 certified planets to add to the 984 already confirmed, plus 1,327 likely planets; nine are Goldilocks Zone planets, able to support liquid water and possibly life. On May 17 the Nat. Academies of Science pub. a Study of Genetically-Modified Crops, concluding that they are as safe to eat as crops developed through traditional plant-breeding methods. On June 17 Am. theoretical physicist Michio Kaku (1947-) (co-founder of String Theory) pub. an article in Geophilosophical Assoc. of Anthropological and Cultural Studies, announcing that primitive semi-radius tachyons (discovered in 2005) are physical evidence that the Big U is a Matrix that was created by a higher intelligence, with the soundbyte: "I have concluded that we are in a world made by rules created by an intelligence. Believe me, everything that we call chance today won't make sense anymore.... To me it is clear that we exist in a plan which is governed by rules that were created, shaped by a universal intelligence and not by chance." On July 5 NASA's Juno spacecraft successfully enters Jupiter's orbit. On July 6 NASA astronaut Kathleen Hallisey "Kate" Rubins (1978-) launches on a Soyuz spacecraft to the ISS, returning on Oct. 30 after performing the first genome sequencing in space using a MiniON device. On July 11 Jung-Hwan Albert Lim et al. at UCSD pub. an article in Nature Neuroscience reporting the first successful regeneration of the optic nerve in mice. On July 11 scientists at Lawrence Berkeley Nat. Lab pub. an article in Nature Nanotechnology reporting the first successful method to grow transistors and circuits that are only a few atoms thick. On Sept. 26 Joshua Yang et al. of MIT pub. an article in Journal of Nature Materials announcing that memristors can emulate human brain neurons. On Sept. 30 NASA announces the discovery of 13th sign of the Zodiac between Sagittarius and Scorpius, which they call Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer, located in the middle of the Serpens constellation. In Sept. physicians at Baylor U. Medical Center in Dallas, Tex. perform the first living donor uterus transplants. On Oct. 1 the FDA approves the Arctic Fuji genetically-modified apple that doesn't turn brown. On Oct. 12 Lawrence S. Mayer and Paul McHugh of Johns Hopkins U. pub. a report in The New Atlantis revealing that there is little scientific evidence that people are born gay or transgender, pissing-off the Human Rights Campaign and other LGBTQ orgs., who call for their er, heads; on Oct. 21 Rachel H. Farr of the U. of Ky. pub. an article in Developmental Psychology, claiming that children of LGBT parents are well-adjusted into middle childhood. On Oct. 13 researchers Robert Gaunt, Andrew B. Schwartz et al. at the U. of Pittsburgh pub. an article in Science Translational Medicine announcing the first mind-controlled robotic arm that is directly connected to the brain and can provide sensation. On Oct. 18 Japanese scientists announce that they have successfully hatched living mice from stem cells from a mouse tail turned into eggs in a petri dish. On Nov. 18 engineers at the U. of Penn. announce the development of nanoscale muscles powered by DNA. On Nov. 23 NASA scientists report the discovery of an underground ice layer on Mars big enough to cover N.M. On Nov. 30 the Internat. Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) officially approves names for chemical elements Nihonium (Nh) (#113) (formerly Ununtrium), Moscovium (Mc) (#115) (formerly Eka-Bismuth), Tennessine (Ts) (#117) (formerly Eka-Astatine), and Oganesson (Og) (#118) (formely Eka-Radon), named after Russian nuclear physicist Yuri Tsolakovich Oganessian (1933-) (highest known atomic mass). On Dec. 8 the U.S. Nat. Center for Health Statistics pub. statistics revealing that life expectancy in the U.S. has declined for the first time since 1993, from 76.5 years in 2014 to 76.3 in 2015 for men, and from 81.3 to 81.2 for women. Art: Frank Barnes, The Clear Stream of Reason. Geoffrey Tristram, New Portrait of William Shakespeare; painted for for the 400th anniv. of his death, claiming it's the most realistic yet. Music: Dierks Bentley (1975-), Black (album #8) (May 27) (#2 in the U.S.) (#1 in the U.S.); incl. Black (#56 in the U.S.) (#4 country), Somewhere on a Beach (#35 in the U.S.) (#1 country), Different for Girls (w/Elle King) (#42 in the U.S.) (#4 country). David Bowie (1947-2016), Blackstar (album #25) (last album) (Jan. 8) (his 69th birthday) (#4 in the U.S.) (#6 in the U.K.); dies 2 days after release; incl. Blackstar (#78 in the U.S.) (#61 in the U.K.); a record 9:57 long. Kane Brown (1993-), Kane Brown (album) (debut) (Dec. 2) (#1 in the U.S.) (#1 country) (350K copies); incl. What Ifs (featuring Lauren Alaina) (#26 in the U.S.) (#1 country) (750K copies). David T. Little, JFK (opera). Lawless (Sydney Wayser AKA Clara-Nova) (1986-), Dear God; "Dear God,/ I hope you got the letter.../ But all the people that you made in your image/ See them starving on their feet/ 'Cause they don't get enough to eat from God/ I can't believe in you." Bruno Mars (1985-), 24K Magic (album #3) (Nov. 18, 2016) (#2 in the U.S.) (#3 in the U.K.) (2M copies); incl. That's What I Like (#1 in the U.S.), 24K Magic (#4 in the U.S.) (#5 in the U.K.). Maren Morris (1990-), My Church (w/busbee) (Jan. 19) (debut) (#50 in the U.S.) (#5 country); about driving down the highway playing her FM radio; Hero (June 3) (album) (debut) (#5 in the U.S.) (#1 country). Frank Ocean (1987-), Blonde (blond) (album #2) (Aug. 20); incl. Close to You (by Burt Bacharach, Hal David, and Stevland Morris). Radiohead, Burn the Witch (May 3). Kiefer Sutherland (1966-), Down in a Hole (album) (debut); folk music. Win Can't Lose, Murder on My Mind; featured in the AMC-TV series "Better Call Saul". Movies: Big year for animated flicks from Disney? The 5th Wave (Jan. 22) (Columbia Pictures), set in Ohio stars Chloe Grace Moretz as Cassie Sullivan, who leads the fight against an ET invasion by the Others; does $109.9M box office on a $54M budget. Dan Trachtenberg's 10 Cloverfield Lane (Mar. 8) (Bad Robot Productions) (Paramount Pictures), a different take on "Cloverfield" (2008) is a psychological sci-fi horror film starring John Goodman as conspiracy nut Howard Stambler, who kidnaps Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and imprisons her in his underground bunker in rural La., claiming that aliens have invaded and it's unsafe to leave; co-stars John Gallagher Jr. as Emmett DeWitt; does $110.2M box office on a $15M budget. Michael Bay's 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (Jan. 12) (3 Arts Entertainment) (Paramount Pictures), written by Chuck Hogan based on the 2014 book "13 Hours" by Mitchell Zuckoff shows how the Obama-Hillary outfit cut their own embassy personnel loose with a stand-down order, and tried to lie their way out of it; filmed in Malta; stars James Badge Dale as Tyrone S. "Rone" Woods', John Krasinski as Jack Da silva, Max Martini as Mark "Oz" Geist, Dominic Fumusa as John "Tig" Tiegen, Pablo Schriber as Kris "Tanto" Paronto, David Denman as Boon, and Toby Stephens as Glen "Bub" Doherty; does $69.4M box office on a $50M budget; on opening night Donald Trump rents a theater and hands out free tickets; "When everything went wrong six men had the courage to do what was right"; the whole thing pisses-off pres. candidate Hillary Clinton, who lost the election right here? Gavin O'Connor's The Accountant (Oct. 10) (Warner Bros.) stars Ben Affleck as autistic Jason Bourne Christian Wollf, who poses as an accountant, and is hired by Living Robotics to uncook their books, running into the Gambino crime family; J.K. Simmons plays dir. Raymond King; Jon Bernthal plays Christian's brother Braxton "Brax"; Cynthia Addai-Robinson plays data analyst Marybeth Medina; does $148.6M box office on a $44M budget. Robert Zemeckis' Allied (Nov. 9) (GK Films) (ImageMovers) (Paramount Pictures) stars Brad pitt as WWII Canadian intel officer Max Vatan, and Marion Cotillard as French Resistance fighter Marianne Beausejour, who start out together on a mission in Casablanca and end up getting married in London and have baby girl Anna, after which Max is told that Marianne is a suspected German spy, and must shoot her if she fails the tests. Denis Willenueve's Arrival (Sept. 1) (Paramount Pictures), written by Eric Heisserer based on the short story "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang stars Amy Adams as cunning linguist Louise Banks, Jeremy Renner as physicist ian Donnelly, Forest Whitaker as U.S. Army Col. Weber, Tzi Ma as Gen. Shang, and Michael Stuhibarg as Agent Halpern, who must deal with multiple giant ET spacecraft all over the Earth filled with giant mute heptapods, having to decide whether to shoot 'em or greet 'em; English-born Am. math whiz Stephen Wolfram creates the alien language for the film using his Wolfram language; features "On the Nature of Daylight" by composer Max Richter; does $116M box office on a $47M budget. Justin Kurzel's Assassin's Creed (Dec. 21) (20th Cent. Fox) is based on the video game, starring Michael Fassbender as Callum Lynch descendant of a 15th cent. Inquisition you know what, Marion Cotillard as Templar Dr. Sophia Rikkin, Jeremy Irons as Templar Alan Rikkin, and Brendan Gleeson as Callum's father Joseph; does $213M box office on a $125M budget. Mark Waters' Bad Santa 2 (Nov. 15) (Miramax) (Broad Green Pictures)), a sequel to the 2003 film "Bad Santa" stars Billy Bob Thornton and Tony Cox as burglars Willie Soke and Marcus Skidmore, who are out to rob a Chicago charity on Christmas Eve; Bret Kelly returns as grownup Thurman Merman; Kathy Bates plays Willie's mother Sunny. Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Mar. 19) (Warner Bros.), based on the DC Comics chars. is a sequel to "Man of Steel" (2013) starring Ben Affleck as Batman Bruce Wayne, Henry Cavill as Superman Clark Kent, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman Diana Prince, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, and Diane Lane as Martha Kent; does $873.3M box office on a $250M budget. Fisher Stevens' Before the Flood (Oct. 21) (Nat. Geographic) stars Leonardo DiCaprio, who travels the globe supposedly watching global warming proceeding in front of his eyes and blasting climate change deniers esp. politicians and corporate lobbyists while comparing it all to Hieronymus Bosch's famous trptych "The Garden of Earthly Delights"; aired on the Nat. Geographic Channel on Oct. 31, which makes it available for free; "Before The Flood is the product of an incredible three-year journey that took place with my co-creator and director Fisher Stevens. We went to every corner of the globe to document the devastating impacts of climate change and questioned humanity's ability to reverse what may be the most catastrophic problem mankind has ever faced. There was a lot to take in. All that we witnessed on this journey shows us that our world's climate is incredibly interconnected and that it is at urgent breaking point... We wanted to create a film that gave people a sense of urgency, that made them understand what particular things are going to solve this problem. We bring up the issue of a carbon tax, for example, which I haven't seen in a lot of documentaries. Basically, sway a capitalist economy to try to invest in renewables, to bring less money and subsidies out of oil companies. These are the things that are really going to make a massive difference... W e need to use our vote... We cannot afford to have political leaders out there that do not believe in modern science or the scientific method or empirical truths... We cannot afford to waste time having people in power that choose to believe in the 2 percent of the scientific community that is basically bought off by lobbyists and oil companies." Greg McLean's The Belko Experiment (Sept. 10) (MGM) (Orion Pictures) stars John Gallagher Jr. as Belko Industries employee Mike Mich, who arrives at his office bldg. in rural Bogota, Colombia, and becomes the subject of a sick experiment on the employees, who must kill each other to survive; "Office Space meets Battle Royale"; does $11.1M box office on a $5M budget. Steven Spielberg's The BFG (May 14) (Walt Disney Pictures), based on the 1982 Roald Dahl novel stars Ruby Barnhill as London orphan Sophie, who befriends the Big Friendly Giant (Mark Rylance); does $178M box office on a $140M budget. Ang Lee's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (Oct. 14) (Studio 8) (TriStar Pictures) stars Joe Alwyn as an Iraq War vet of Bravo Co. with PTSD, who is sent on a victory tour at the Thanksgiving game of the Dallas Cowboys along with fellow soldiers SSgt David Dime (Garrett Hedlund), Virgil "Shroom" Breem (Vin Diesel), and Crack (Beau Knapp); Chris Tucker plays film producer Albert Brown; Steve Marton plays Cowboys owner Norm Oglesby; :Makenzie Leigh plays Billy's cheerleader babe Faison Zorn; Kristen Stewart plays Billy's sister Kathryn; features a halftime show by Destiny's Child; first feature film with a 120 frames/sec. frame rate, in a 3D format at 4K HD resolution; does $30.9M box office on a $40M budget. Ben Younger's Bleed for This (Nov. 18) (Open Road Films), based on the life of boxing world champion Vinny Pazienza stars Miles Teller as Vinny Paz; too bad, it bombs, doing $5.5M on a $6M budget. Fisher Stevens' and Alexis Bloom's Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (May 14) is the last before their tragic deaths on Dec. 27-28. Anthony Russo's and Joe Russo's Captain America: Civil War (Apr. 12) (Walt Disney Studios), sequel to "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011) and "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (2014), starring Chris Evans as Captain America Steve Rogers, Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark the Iron Man, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff the Black Widow, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes the Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson the Falcon, and Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes the War Machine; does $1.153B box office on a $250M budget. Matt Ross' Captain Fantastic (Jan. 23) (Bleecker Street) stars Viggo Mortensen as Washington survivalist Ben Cash, father of six, who celebrate Noam Chomsky Day instead of Xmas, then begin to doubt his fathering sckills after their mom Leslie (Trin Miller) commits suicide; does $10.2M box office. Rawson Marshall Thurber's Central Intelligence (Warner Bros.), the funniest movie of the summer stars Kevin Hart and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as h.s. buddies Calvin Joyner (school's top student AKA the Golden Jet) and Robbie Wierdicht (school's fat kid and butt of jokes), who meet up just before their 20th graduation anniv., with Wierdich revealing that he is now CIA agent Bob Stone, who shanghais Joyner into a dangerous intel mission; Danielle Nicolet plays Joyner's h.s. sweetheart and wife Maggie Johnson; Amy Ryan plays CIA agent Pamela Harris; Melissa McCarthy has a cameo as Wierdicht's h.s. crush Darla; does $214M box office on a $50M budget. David Frankel's Collateral Beauty (Dec. 13) (New Line Cinema) (Warner Bros.), written by Allan Loeb stars Will Smith as New York ad exec Howard Inlet, who suffers a tragedy and copes with it by writing letters to Love, Time, and Death, causing his partners to hire stage actors to impersonate them, incl. Keira Knightly as Aimee Moore AKA Love, Jacob Latimore as Raffi AKA Time, and Hellen Mirren as Brigitte AKA Death; Edward Norton plays partner Whit Yardsham, Michael Pena plays partner Simon Scott, and Kate Winslet plays partner Claire Wilson; also stars Naomie Harris as grief counselor Madeleine; features great cinematography of Manhattan by Maryse Alberti. Nacho Vigalondo's Colossal (Sept. 6) (Voltage Pictures) (Brightlight Pictures) stars Anne Hathaway as unemployed alcoholic New York City writer Gloria, who can cause a giant reptilian kaiju to appear in Seoul, South Korea if she walks through a playground drunk at 8:05 a.m., and whose boyfriend Oscar can make a giant robot appear, which he uses to terrorize the pop. while she tries to stop him; does $3M box office on a $15M budget. Tim Miller's Deadpool (Feb. 8) (20th Cent. Fox), based on the Marvel Comics char. stars Ryan Reynolds as ex-special forces op Wade Wilson, who is transformed into an immortal man who heals every disfigurement except his chicharrone-like disfigured face, Morena Baccarin as his gorgeous babe Venessa Carlysle, whom he has to hide from for fear of losing her love, T.J. Miller as Deadpool's best friend and bartender Weasel, Ed Skrein as English "what's my name?" bad guy Francis Freeman AKA Ajax, who created him and whom he wants to kill for it, Gina Carano as Angel Dust, a small babe with the strength of the Hulk, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, who can turn into a mini atomic bomb, and Stefan Kapcicic as the voice of Piotr Rasputin AKA Colossus; Leslie Uggams plays Deadpool's roommate Blind Al; does $493M box office on a $58M budget, becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film and Marvel comics film (until ?); "Crime's the disease, meet the cure. Okay, not the cure, but more like a topical ointment to reduce the swelling and itch" (Deadpool); "Whatever they did to me made me totally indestructible, and completely unfuckable" (Deadpool); "You may be wondering why the red suit. Well, that's so bad guys don't see me bleed" (Deadpool); "You are haunting. You look like an avocado had sex with an older, more disgusting avocado" (Weasel); "Oh motherfucker you are hard to look at. (Weasel) Like a testicle with teeth? (Deadpool) You look like Freddy Krueger face-fucked a topographical map of Utah (Weasel)"; "Your right leg is Thanksgiving and your left leg is Christmas. Can I come and visit you between the holidays?" (Deadpool to Vanessa). Mick Jackson's Denial (Sept. 11) (BBC Films) (Participant Media) (Bleecker Street) (Entertainment One), written by David Hare based on Deborah E. Lipstadt's book "History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier" stars Timothy Spall as you-know-what David Irving, Rachel Weisz (replacing Hilary Swank) as Lipstadt, Tom Wilkinson as Richard Rampton, and Andrew Scott as Anthony Julius. Scott Derrickson's Doctor Strange (Oct. 13) (Marvel Studios) (Walt Disney Studios), based on the Marvel Comics char. stars Benedict Cumberbatch as neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange who has a car accident that takes away his ability to perform and ends up in Kamar-Taj learning the mystic arts from Karl Mordo (Ciwetel Ejiofor) and the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) while fighting Wong (Benedict Wong) using his Cloak of Levitation, Infinity Stone, and Eye of Agamotto; Rachel McAdams plays Strange's babe Christine Palmer (the Night Nurse); does $677.7M box office on a $236.6M budget. Fede Alvarez' Don't Breathe (Mar. 12) (Ghost House Pictures) (Good Universe) (Screen Gems) (Stage 6 Films) stars Dylan Minnette as Alex, Daniel Zovatto as Money, and Jane Levy as Rocky, three Detroit juvenile delinquents who break into blind man Norman Nordstrom (Stephen Lang)'s house and get trapped inside with a murderous monster; does $157.1M box office on a $9.9M budget. Paul Verhoeven's Elle (May 21) (France 2 Cinema), based on the 2012 Philippe Djian novel "Oh..." stars Isabelle Huppert as businesswoman Michele Leblance, who is raped in her home by an unknown rapist and plots revenge, discovering it's her next-door neighbor Patrick (Laurent Lafitte); does $10.2M box office on a $9.1M budget. David Yates' Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Warner Bros.), a prequel to the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling stars Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, and Katherine Waterston as Porpentina "Tina" Goldstein; does $611.8M box office on a $180M budget. Denzel Washington's Fences (Dec. 16) (Paramount Pictures), based on the 1983 play by August Wilson stars Washington as former Negro league baseball player Troy Maxson, Viola Davis as Rose Maxson, and Stephen McKinley Henderson as Jim Bono. Andrew Stanton's 3-D animated Finding Dory (Walt Disney Studios) (June 8), sequel to "Finding Nemo" (2003) features the voices of Ellen DeGeneres as regal blue tang Dory, Albert Brooks as ocellaris clownfish Marlin, Hayden Rolence as his son Nemo, and Ed O'Neill as East pacific red octopus Hank; does $1.029B box office on a $200M budget. Stephen Frears' Florence Foster Jenkins (Apr. 23) (Pathe) (BBC Films) (Qwerty Films) (Paramount Pictures) stars Meryl Streep as the New York socialite with the world's worst singing voice, and Hugh Grant as her hubby-mgr. St. Clair Bayfield; does $44.3M box office on a $29M budget; Streep's 20th Oscar nomination. Adam Nimoy's For the Love of Spock (Apr. 16) (455 Films) is a documentary about Leonard Nimoy, dir. by his son, who started it before his death. John Lee Hancock's The Founder (Dec. 7) (FilmNation Entertainment) (The Combine) (Weinstein Co.) stars Michael Keaten as McDonald's Restaurants founder Ray Kroc, and Laura Dern as his wife Ethel Fleming; does $8M box office on a $7M budget. Paul Feig's 3-D Ghostbusters (July 9) (Village Roadshow Pictures) is a female reboot starring Melissa McCrrtney as paranormal researcher Dr. Abigail "Abby" Yates, Kristen Wiig as physicist Dr. Erin Gilbert, Kate McKinnon as electric engineer Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones as recruit #1 Patricia "Patty" Tolan, Andy Garcia as Mayor Bradley, and Chris Hemsworth as their hunky dimwitted secy. Kevin Beckman; features cameos by Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts, Ozzy Osbourne, and Al Roker; does $229M box office on a $144M budget. Alex Proyas' Gods of Egypt (Feb. 25) (Thunder Road Pictures) (Summit Entertainment) is about an alternate ancient Egypt where gods live with humans and have golden blood, incl. God of the Desert Set (Gerard Butler), God of the Sun Ra (Geoffrey Rush), God of Air Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldu), God of Wisdom Thoth (Chadwick Boseman), and God of Love Hathor (Elodie Yung); does $150.7M box office on a $140M budget. Zhang Yimou's The Great Wall (Dec. 15) (China Film Group) (Universal Pictures) stars Matt Damon as white Euro William Garin, who is called into Song era China to save it from monsters, pissing-off the PC police, to which Yimou fires back with the soundbyte: "For the first time, a film deeply rooted in Chinese culture, with one of the largest Chinese casts ever assembled, is being made at tentpole scale for a world audience"; does $219M box office on a $150M budget. Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge (Sept. 4) (Summit Entertainment) stars Andrew Garfield as pacifist Seventh Day Adventist Desmond T. Doss, who fights in the WWII Battle of Okinawa sans rifle, turning into a hero and rescuing 75+ soldiers at you know where, receiving a Medal of Honor from Pres. Truman (first to a conscientious objector, and only for bravery in WWII); does $84.2M box office on a $40M budget. David Mackenzie's Hell or High Water (May 16) (CBS Films) (Lionsgate), written by Taylor Sheridan stars Chris Pine and Ben Foster as West Tex. brothers Toby and Tanner Howard, who decide to become bank robbers, and Jeff Bridges as Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton; does $31.9M box office on a $12M budget. Theodore Melfi's Hidden Figures (Dec. 10) (20th Cent. Fox), based on the book by Margot Lee Shetterly stars Taraji P. Henson as African-Am. mathematician Katherine G. Johnson, and Octavia Spencer as Dorothy Vaughan, who calculate flight trajectories for NASA's Project Mercury and Apollo 11; Kevin Costner plays NASA dir. Al Harrison; Pres. Obama greets Costner, Henson, and Spencer on Dec. 15; does $236.2M box office on a $25M budget. Roland Emmerich's Independence Day: Resurgence (June 20) (TSG Entertainment) (20th Cent. Fox) is a sequel to the hit 1996 movie set 20 years afterwards when they return, and of course the U.S. pres. is a woman, Pres. Lanford (Sela Ward); also stars Jeff Goldblum as MIT-educated computer expert David Levinson, Judd Hirsch as his father Julius Levinson, Brent Spinder as Dr. Brakish Okun, Bill Pullman as former U.S. pres. #42 Thomas J. Whitmore, Marilyn, er, Maika Monroe as his daughter Patricia Whitmore, Liam Hemsworth as U.S. pilot Jake Morrison, Jessie Usher as Col. Steven Hiller's stepson Dylan Dubrow-Hiller, and Angelababy as Chinese pilot Rain Lao, and Ng Chin Han as her adoptive father Chinese Gen. Jiang Lao; too bad, the aliens die way too easily at the end, as if they ran out of funds, ruining the movie?; does $389.7M box office on a $165M budget. Ron Howard's Inferno (Oct. 9) (Columbia Pictures), based on the 2013 Dan Brown novel, filmed in Venice and Budapest stars Tom Hanks as Harvard symbology prof. Dr. Robert Langdon, Felicity Jones as Dr. Sienna Brooks, and Ben Foster as evil scientist Bertrand Zobrist, who wants to reduce world pop. with the Inferno virus; does $218.7M box office on a $75M budget. Pablo Larrain's Jackie (Sept. 7) (Fox Searchlight Pictures) stars Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy after JFK's assassination; does $300K box office on a $9M budget. Paul Greengrass' Jason Bourne (July 11) (Universal Pictures) is Jason Bourne #5, starring Matt Damon as Bourne, Tommy Lee Jones as CIA dir. Robert Dewey, and Alicia Vikander as CIA cyberhead Heather Lee; does $415M box office on a $120M budget. Jon Favreau's animated The Jungle Book (Walt Disney Studios), based on the Rudyard Kipling novels and the 1957 Disney animated film stars the voices of Neel Sethi as Mowgli, Bill Murray as Baloo, Ben Kingsley as Bagheera, Idris Elba as Shere Khan, Lupita Nyong'o as Rakha, and Christopher Walken as King Louie; does $966.5M box office on a $175M budget. Damien Chazelle's La La Land (Aug. 31) (Summit Entertainment) is a romantic jazz musical set in you know where starring Ryan Gosling as jazz pianist Sebastian Wilder, and Emma Stone as aspiring actress Mia Dolan, who hook up at Bill's (J.K. Simmons) restaurant, and end up going their separate ways; features John Legend as jazz singer Keith; does $226.5M box office on a $30M budget. Ben Affleck's Live by Night (Dec. 13) (Warner Bros.), based on the 2012 Dennise Lehane novel is a 1920s-30s gangster flick starring Affleck as Boston gangster Joe Coughlin, who hooks up Emma Gould (Sienna Miller), moll of rival gangster Albert White (Robert Glenister); Remo Girone plays rival Italian mafioso Maso Pescatore; a box office dud, doing $182K box office on a $65M budget. Garth Davis' Lion (Sept. 10) (See-Saw Films) (Weinstein Co.), based on the book "A Long Way Home" by Saroo Brierly and Larry Buttrose stars Dev Patel as Indian boy Saroo, who is separated from his mother, causing him to gon a search along with his babe Lucy (Rooney Mara); David Wenham and Nicole Kidman play his adoptive parents John and Sue Brierly; does $27.5M box office on a $12M budget. Jeff Nichols' Loving (May 16) (Random Films) (Big Beach) (Focus Features) stars Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga as interracial marriage renegades Richard and Mildred Loving in Va., who won in the 1967 Loving v. Virginia U.S. Supreme Court decision; does $6.7M box office on a $9M budget. Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester by the Sea (Pearl Street Films) (Roadside Attractions) (Amazon Studios) (Jan. 23) stars Casey Affleck as Lee Chandler, a janitor in Quincy, Mass., Kyle Chandler as his brother Joe, who dies of heart failure, causing Lee to travel to Manchester, Mass. to see Joe's son Patrick (Lucas Hedges), learning that he has been given guardianship. Fabio Guaglione's and Fabio Resinaro's Mine (Oct. 6) stars Armie Hammer as U.S. Marine Sniper Mike Stevens, who steps on a landmine in the middle of the desert and must wait 52 hours for a rescue while being taunted by a Berber (Clint Dyer) and dreaming of his fiancee Jenny (Annabelle Wallis); Tom Cullen plays his spotter Tommy Madison. Tim Burton's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Sept. 25) (20th Cent. Fox), written by Jane Goldman based on the 2011 Ransom Riggs novel stars Eva Green as Miss Alma LeFay Peregrine, Asa Butterfield as Jacob "Jake" Portman, Terence Stamp as his grandfther Abraham "Abe" Portman, and Judi Dench as Miss Esmeralda Avocet; does $282M box office on a $110M budget. John Madden's Miss Sloane (Nov. 11) (FilmNation Entertainment) (EuropaCorp) stars Jessica Chastain as Washington, D.C. lobbyist Elizabeth Sloane, who takes on the establishment over gun control; does $9.1M box office on a $13M budget. Ron Clements' and John Musker's computer-animated Moana (Nov. 14) (Walt Disney Pictures) stars the voice of newcomer Auli'i Cravalh as, a Polynesian princess who is chosen by the ocean to reunite a mystic relic with the goddess Te Fiti by seeking out demigod Maui; does $645M box office on a $175M budget; features the song How Far I'll Go. Jodie Foster's Money Monster (May 12) (TriStar Pictures) stars George Clooney as TV financial expert Lee Gates, whose recommended stock IBIS craters, causing Kyle Budwell (Jack O'Connell) to hold him hostage on the set until he gives him some answers; Julia Roberts plays show dir. Patty Fenn; does $93.3M box office on a $27M budget. Barry Jenkins' Moonlight (Oct. 21) (A24), based on Tarell Alvin McCraney's play "Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue" stars Alex Hibbert/Ashton Sandrs/Trevante Rhodes as Little/Teen/Adult "Black" Chiron, who goes gay with Jaden Piner/Jharrel Jerome/Andre Holland as Child/Teen/Adult Kevin; Naomie Harris plays Chiron's mother Paula, Mahershala Ali plays crack dealer Juan, and Janelle Monae plays his babe Teresa; does $16M box office on a $5M budget. Kim A. Snyder;s Newtown (Jan. 24) is a documentary about the Dec. 14, 2012 school massacre in Newtown, Conn.; too bad, widespread belief that the event was a govt. false flag causes it to flop, doing only $13K box office. Tom Ford's Nocturnal Animals (Sept. 2) (Focus Features), based on the 1993 novel "Tony and Susan" by Austin Wright stars Amy Adams as rich LA art gallery owner Susan Morrow, and Jake Gyllenhaal as her estranged hubby Edward Sheffield, who sends her the ms. for a novel about a violent rape-murder of a man's wife and daughter by a gang of drifters led by Ray Marcus (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), and the failed attempt at bringing them to justice by local detective Bobby Andes (Michael Shannon); does $22.5M box office on a $32.4M budget. Morten Tyldum's Passengers (Dec. 21) (Vilage Roadshow Pictures) (Columbia Pictures), written by Jon Spaihts stars Jennifer Lawrence as Aurora Dunn, and Chris Pratt as Jim Preston, who wake up 90 years too soon on a spaceship on a 120-year voyage to Homestead II with 5,259 people; Michael Sheen plays Arthur the robot bartender; Laurence Fishburne plays Chief Gus Mancuso; Andy Garcia plays Adm. Norris; does $303.1M box office on a $150M budget. Chris Renaud's computer-animated comedy The Secret Life of Pets (June 16) (Illumination Entertainment) (Universal Pictures) stars the voices of Louis C.K. as Jack Russell Terrier Max, Albert Brooks as red-tailed hawk Tiberius, Eroc Stonestreet as shaggy dog Duke, Kevin Hart as white rabbit Snowball, and Jenny Slate as white Pomeranian Gidget; does $875.5M box office on a $75M budget; followed by "The Secret Life of Pets 2" (2019) starring Patton Oswald as Max. Peter Berg's Patriots Day (Nov. 17), based on the book "Boston Strong" by Casey Sherman and Dave Wede about the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing stars Mark Wahlberg as Boston PD Sgt. Tommy Saunders, John Goodman as police commisssiner Ed Davis, J.K. Simons as Watertown PD Sgt. Jeffrey Pugliese, Kevin Bacon as FBI agent Richard DesLauriers, and Michelle Monaghan as Tommy's wife nurse Carol Saunders. Burr Steers' Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Jan. 21) (Lionsgate) (Screen Gems), based on the 2009 Seth Grahame-Smith novel taking off from the 1813 Jane Austen novel stars Lily James as Elizabeth Bennett, Sam Riley as Fitzwilliam Darcy, Jack Huston as Mr. Wicham, Bella Heathcote Jane Bennet, Douglas Booth as Mr. Bingley, Matt Smith as Mr. Collins, Charles Dance as Mr. Bennet, and Lena Headey as Lady Catherine de Bourgh; does $16.4M box office on a $28M budget. Julia Ducournau's Raw (Grave) (Wild Bunch) (May 14) is a horror drama film starring Garance Miller as Justine, who starts out as a vegetarian and ends up a raving cannibal; does $3.33M box office on a $3.8M (3.48M Euro) budget. Paul W.S. Anderson's Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (Dec. 23) is the 6th and last installment in the series, starring Milla Jovovich as Alice; does $120M box office on a $40M budget. Kevin Reynolds' Risen (Feb. 19) (Affirm Films) (Columbia Pictures) stars Joseph Fiennes as Roman tribune Clavius, who is ordered by Pontius Pilate (Peter Firth) to find the stolen body of Jewish Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) (Cliff Curtis), only to have a personal experience and go Christian, then forget to write a bestseller about it; does $46.1M box office on a $20M budget. Jaume Collet-Serra's The Shallows (Junue 21) (Columbia Pictures) stars scantily-clad Blake Lively as hot medical student Nancy Adams, who gets stranded 200 yards from shore on a secluded beach in Mexico, and must battle a great white shark to get back to shore; does $119M box office on a $17M budget. Martin Scorsese's Silence (Nov. 29) (Paramount Pictures), based on the 1966 Shusaku Endo novel set in Nagasaki, Japan during the time of Kakure Kirishitan (Hidden Christians) in 1638 stars Liam Neeson as Portuguese Father Christovao Ferreira, Andrew Garfield as his student Sebastiao Rodrigues (based on real-life Giuseppe Chiara), Adam Driver as Father Franciscco Garupe, Issey Ogata as grand inquisitor Inoue Masashige, ans Shina Tsukamoto as his henchman Mokichi; does $19.9M box office on a $40M budget. M. Night Shyamalan's Split (Sept. 26) (Blinding Edge Pictures) (Blumhouse Productions) (Universal Pictures) stars James McAvoy as Kevin Wendell Crumb, who has 24 personalities, and kidnaps three teenie girls and holds them in an underground room; they must talk one of the personalities into setting them free before #24 appears, the Beast, a cannibal murderer; does $278.5M box office on a $9M budget. David Ayer's Suicide Squad (Aug. 1) (Warner Bros.), a sequel to "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" based on the DC Comics chars. stars Viola Davis as U.S. govt. intel exec Amanda Waller, who assembles Task Force X out of dangerous psychotic supercriminals imprisoned in Belle Reve Prison in La. to take on even more evil supervillains in Gotham City led by the Joker (Jared Leto); Task Force X incl. Floyd Lawton/Deadshot (Will Smith), Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Chato Santana/El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), George "Digger" Harkness/Capt. Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Waylon Jones/Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), and Dr. June Moone/Enchantress (Cara Delevigne); first DC Comics film to win an Oscar (best makeup and hairstyling); does $746.8M box office on a $175M budget. Justin Lin's Star Trek Beyond (July 22) is Star Trek #13 and Star Trek Reboot Series #3; does $343.5M box office on a $185M budget. Clint Eastwood's Sully: Miracle on the Hudson (Sept. 2) (Village Roadshow Pictures) stars Tom Hanks as Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, hero of U.S. Airways Flight 1549; does $200M box office on a $60M budget. ?'s This Is Your Land (My Music) (Mar. 1) is a PBS-TV special consisting of a musical tour of Am. folk music, hosted by the Smothers Brothers and Judy Collins. Yeon Sang-ho's Train to Busan (May 13) (Next Entertainment World) debuts, a South Korean horror film about a sudden incursion of a zombie apocalypse in the country that threatens the passengers on a you know what; does $100M box office on a $8.5M budget. Duncan Jones' Warcraft (May 24) (Universal Pictures), based on the video game series set in the world of Azeroth, about an invasion of orcs from Draenor stars Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper, Toby Kebbell, {Ben Schnetzer, Robert Kazinsky, and Daniel Wu; does $433.5M box office on a $160M budget, passing "Prince of Persia: Sands of Time" (2010) as the highest-grossing video game adaptation. Todd Phillips' War Dogs (Aug. 3) (Warner Bros.), based on a Rolling Stone article by Guy Lawson stars Jonah Hill and Miles Teller as arms dealers Efraim Diveroli and David Packouz, who receive a $300M U.S. Army contract to supply ammo to the Afghan Nat. Army; does $86.2M box office on a $50M budget. Bryon Howard's and Rich Moore's computer-animated buddy cop film Zootopia (Walt Disney Pictures) (Feb. 11) is about anthropomorphic mammals, starring the voice of Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy Hopps, first rabbit police officer in Zootopia, who hooks up with red fox con artist Nicholas P. "Nick" Wilde (Jason Bateman); does $1.024B box office on a $150M budget. Nonfiction: Jennifer Ackerman, The Genius of Birds. Svetlana Alexievich, Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets. David C. Archibald (1955-), American Gripen: The Solution to the F-35 Nightmare (Dec. 14); the Saab Gripen. Douglas Axe, Undeniable: How Biology Confirms Our Intuition that Life Is Designed. John Bloom, Eccentric Orbits: The Iridium Story. Don Boys, Muslim Invasion: The Fuse Is Burning! (June 9). Stephen Budiansky, Code Warriors; the NSA attempts to hack the Soviet Union. Gary J. Byrne, Crisis of Character: A White House Secret Service Officer Discloses His Firsthand Experiences with Hillary, Bill, and How They Operate (June 28); ex-Secret Service agent details Bill Clinton's constant whoring and Hillary Clinton's unhinged rage, incl. throwing a Bible at the back of an agent's head, concluding that she "lacks the integrity and temperament to serve" in the White House; admits that he "even secretly disposed of sordid physical evidence that might later have been used to convict the president [Bill Clinton]." John le Carre (1931), The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life (autobio.) (Sept. 6). Sean Carroll, The Big Picture: On the Origin of Life, Meaning and the Universe Itself; poetic naturalism? Brian Christian, Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions. Greg Clark, Global Cities: A Short History. Hillary Clinton (1947-) and Tim Kaine (1958-), Stronger Together (Sept. 6); their campaign plans; sells only 3K copies the first week. Ann Coulter (1961-), In Trump We Trust: E Pluribus Awesome! (Aug. 23). Laura Cumming, The Vanishing Velazquez: A 19th Century Bookseller's Obsession with a Lost Masterpiece. E.J. Dionne (1952-), Why the Right Went Wrong: Conservatism from Goldwater to the Tea Party and Beyond (Jan. 19); claims that conservative politicians have been making election promises they never keep, causing anger that's fueling the rise of Donald Trump; "The history of contemporary American conservatism is a story of disappointment and betrayal"; "The problem is that those white, working-class voters have voted Republican and gotten no material benefit from that. And the other side of Trump speaks very much to them." John Donovan and Caren Zucker,, In a Different Key; how autism became so common. Michael Doran, Ike's Gamble: America's Rise to Dominance in the Middle East. John Dunn, Renaissance: Counter-Renaissance: The Revolt Against Jehovian Terror (Feb. 29). Mohamed A. El-Erian (1958-), The Only Game in Town: Central Banks, Instability, and Avoiding the Next Collapse (Jan.). Denis Feeney, Beyond Greek: The Beginnings of Latin Literature (Jan. 4). William Finnegan (1952-), Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life (Apr. 26) (Pulitzer Prize). Gen. Michael T. Flynn (1958-), The Field of Fight: How We can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies. Thomas Frank, Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? (Mar. 15); how the Dem. Party sold-out to corporations. Michael Fried (1939-), After Caravaggio (July 12); his influence on Bartolomeo Manfredi, Valentin de Boulogne, Nicolas Tournier, Nicolas Regnier, Cecco del Caravaggio, and Jusepe de Ribera, and their relation to the thought of Rene Descartes. Timothy R. Furnish, Sects, Lies, and the Caliphate: Ten Years of Observations on Islam (Jan. 16); High Towers and Strong Places: A Political History of Middle-earth; followed by "Bright Swords and Glorious Warriors: A Military History of Middle-earth. Edith Gelles (ed.), Abigail Adams: Letters. John R. Gillingham, The European Union: An Obituary (Apr. 20). Robert J. Gordon, The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living Since the Civil War (Jan. 12); claims that the days of rapid U.S. growth are no more. Sebastian Gorka, Defeating Jihad: The Winnable War (Apr. 11). Julian Guthrie, How to Make A Spaceship: A Band of Renegades, An Epic Race, and the Birth of Private Spaceflight (Sept. 20); Peter Diamandis and the XPRIZE Foundation. Lawrence J. Haas, Harry & Arthur: Truman, Vandenberg, and the Partnership That Created the Free World (Apr. 1). Shadi Hamid, Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle Over Islam Is Reshaping the World (June 7); how the Muslim World still has its mind in its 1400-year supremacist past. Philip Haney and Art Moore, See Something, Say Nothing: A Homeland Security Officer Exposes the Government's Submission to Jihad (May 24). Tim Harford, Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives. (Oct. 4). Gen. Michael Vincent Hayden (1945-), Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror. Francois Hollande (1954-), A President Shouldn't Say That...; admits that France has "a problem with Islam. No one doubts it", incl. mass immigration and veiled women; "How can one avoida partition? Because that is still what is happening: a partition." Daniel E. Horowitz, Stolen Sovereignty: How to Stop Unelected Judges from Transforming America (July 19); the evil fruit caused by Pres. Obama's packing of federal courts, starting with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in "Obergefell v. Hodges". Paul Kalanithi, When Breath Becomes Air (autobio.) (Jan. 12). Philip Haney and Art Moore, See Something, Say Nothing: A Homeland Security Officer Exposes the Government's Submission to Jihad (May 24); the horrible success of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas et al. in softening up the U.S. for Islamic takeover, using Pres. Obama as their wabbit. Catherine Fairfield Hayes, Contemplations on God and Orgasm. James Hoggan, I'm Right and You're an Idiot: The Toxic State of Public Discourse and How to Clean It Up (May 24). Daniel H. Joyner, Iran's Nuclear Program and International Law. Kevin Kelly (1952-), The Inevitable; AI will be humanity's savior?; the Big Twelve Trends: Becoming, Cognifying, Flowing, Screening, Accessing, Sharing, Filtering, Remixing, Interacting, Tracking, Questioning, Beginning; "This is the moment that folks in the future will look back at and say, 'Oh to have been alive and well back then!' There has never been a better time with more opportunities, more openings, lower barriers, higher benefit/risk ratios, better returns, greater upside than now. Right now, this minute." William Kilpatrick, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Jihad (Sept. 26); terrorism has nothing to do with Islam? Ed Klein, Guilty as Sin (Oct.); Hillary Clinton's email server problems. Nancy Hartevelt Kobrin, The Jihadi Dictionary: The Essential Intel Tool for Military, Law Enforcement, Government and the Concerned Public (May 9). Craig Leavitt and Thomas J. Noel, Herndon Davis: Painting Colorado History, 1901-1962 (Feb. 15). Janna Levin, Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space (Mar. 29); the story of the detection of the collision of two black holes. Bernard-Henri Levy (1948-), The Spirit of Judaism (L'Esprit du Judaisme) (Feb.); English trans. pub. in Jan. 2017; why the Jewish state of Israel is the litmus test for anti-Semitism; a "defense of a certain idea of man and God, of history and time, of power, voice, light, sovereignty, revolt, memory, and nature." Mike Love (1941-), Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy (autobio.) (Sept. 13). Jane Mayer (1955-), Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right (Jan.); NYT bestseller; the Koch and Bradley brothers, DeVos and Coors families, Richard Mellon Scaife, John M. Olin. Mitch McConnell (1942-), The Long Game: A Memoir (autobio.) (May 31); "In the line of work I would choose, compromise is key, but I'd come to find that certain times required me to invoke the fighting spirit both of my parents instilled in me." Peter McLoughlin, Easy Meat: Inside Britain's Grooming Gang Scandal (Mar. 1). Bill Mesler and H. James Cleaves II, A Brief History of Creation: Science and the Search for the Origin of Life. Chris Miller, The Struggle to Save the Soviet Economy: Mikhail Gorbachev and the Collapse of the USSR (Dec. 2). Dick Morris, Armageddon: How Trump Can Beat Hillary (June 28). Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Gene: An Intimate History (May 17). Peter Neumann, Radicalised: New Jihadists and the Threat to the West. Bill O'Reilly (1949-), Killing the Rising Sun: How America Vanquished World War II Japan (Sept. 13). Murray Pittock, Culloden (Sept. 14). Joshua Cooper Ramo (1968-), The Seventh Sense: Power, Fortune, and Survival in the Age of Networks.; how the new instinct for networking is as big a global rev. as the Englightenment or Industrial Rev.; "Hard Gatekeeping" as a strategy for countries to keep control of network topology. Lyndal Roper, Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet (June 16). Amy Schumer (1981-), The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo (memoir) (Aug. 16); NYT bestseller. Peter Schweizer (1964-), Victory: The Reagan Administration’s Secret Strategy that Hastened the Collapse of the Soviet Union (Oct. 25). Peter Schweizer (1964-), Chuck Dixon, and Brett R. Smith, Clinton Cash: A Graphic Novel (Aug. 8). Rick Shenkman, Political Animals: How Our Stone Age Brain Gets in the Way of Smart Politics (Jan.). Margot Lee Shetterly (1969-), Hidden Figures: The Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race (Sept. 6) (#1 NYT bestseller); female African-Am. mathematicians working for NASA during the Space Race; filmed in 2016. Tamara Sonn, Is Islam an Enemy of the West? (Nov. 17); Georgetown U. prof. spouts Islamophile moose hockey. Nicholas Sparks (1965-), Two by Two (Oct. 4). Anne Speckhard and Ahmet S. Yayla, Isis Defectors: Inside Stories of the Terrorist Caliphate (July 1). Bruce Springsteen (1949-), Born to Run (autobio.) (Sept. 27). Rodney Stark, Bearing False Witness: Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic History (May 16); claims that anti-Catholic fanatics have framed the Roman Catholic Church. Roger Stone (1952-), Jeb! and the Bush Crime Family: The Inside Story of an American Dynasty (Feb. 16); their dirty laundry exposed in the midst of Jeb's limping U.S. pres. campaign. Paul Sutliff, Civilization Jihad and the Myth of Moderate Islam (Apr. 12). Peter Townsend, Nothing to Do with Islam? Investigating the West's Most Dangerous Blind Spot (May 18). Gary Trudeau (1948-), Yuge! 30 Years of Doonesbury on Trump (July 5). J.D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis (June 28). Peter Waldhams (1948-), Farewell to Ice (Sept.); claims that the retreat of sea ice in the Arctic generates feedbacks that impact the entire global climate system, accelerating the rate of warming, the rate of sea level rise, the emission of methane from the offshore, and the occurrence of weather extremes affecting food production, arguing that catastrophic consequences cannot be avoided without making an all-out effort to develop ways of directly capturing carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad. Tim Whitmarsh, Battling the Gods (Feb. 16); claims that atheism was common in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. Susan Williams, Spies in the Congo; how the U.S. got the uranium for the Hiroshima A-bomb. Edward Osborne Wilson (1929-), Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life (Mar. 7); buys the Sixth Extinction narrative bigtime, blaming humans for turning the Holocene into the Anthropocene, with the bold conclusion: "The only solution to the 'Sixth Extinction' is to increase the area of inviolable natural reserves to half the surface of the Earth or greater. This expansion is favored by unplanned consequences of ongoing human population growth and movement and evolution of the economy now driven by the digital revolution. But it also requires a fundamental shift in moral reasoning concerning our relation to the living environment." Peter Wilson, Heart of Europe. Tom Wolfe (1931-), The Kingdom of Speech (Aug.); dumps Charles Darwin and Noam Chomsky to explain the evolution of human speech. Ed Yong, I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life (first book). Novels: Anuk Arudpragasam, The Story of a Brief Marriage. Sara Baume, Spill Simmer Falter Wither. Michael Chabon, Moonglow. Jennifer Haigh, Heat & Light; a Penn. town fights a fracking co. Adam Haslett (1970-), Imagine Me Gone; a family has a hereditary anxiety disorder. Josh Katz, Speaking American: How Y’all, Youse , and You Guys Talk: A Visual Guide (Oct. 25). Maylis de Kerangal, The Heart. Sergei Lebedev (1981-), Oblivion (Jan. 19); the former gulags of the Arctic Circle. Jonathan Lee, High Dive; IRA terrorists work to assassinate Margaret Thatcher with a bomb in a Brighton hotel in 1984. Ken Liu, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories (short stories). Javier Marias, Venice: An Interior. C.E. Morgan, The Sport of Kings; the real story of horseracing is in the breeding shed? Ann Patchett (1963-), Commonwealth (Aug. 1); Bert Cousins and Franny Keating in Southern Calif. Anne Rice (1942-2021), Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis (Nov. 29); #12 in the Vampire Chronicles (1976). Plays: David Yazbek (1961-) and Itamar Moses (1977-), The Band's Visit (musical) (Atlantic Theater Do., New York) (Dec. 8) (Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York) (Oct. 7, 2017) (? perf.); based on the 2007 film; the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra gets a wrong ticket from a clerk in Tel Aviv, ending up in Bet Hatikva instead of Petah Tikvah; wins 10 of 11 nominations at the 2018 Tony Awards. Poetry: Billy Collins (1941-), The Rain in Portugal. Births: Deaths: Am. "Tall Man in Phantasm" actor Angus Scrimm (b. 1926) on Jan. 9 in Los Angeles, Calif. (prostate cancer). English rock star David Bowie (b. 1947) on Jan. 10 in Manhattan, N.Y. (liver cancer). English "Severus Snape in Harry Potter" actor-dir. Alan Rickman (b. 1946) on Jan. 14 in London (cancer). Am. "Grizzly Adams" actor Dan Haggerty (b. 1941) on Jan. 15 in Burbank, Calif. (spinal cancer). Am. "Take It Easy" Eagles singer Glenn Frey (b. 1948) on Jan. 18 in New York City (pneumonia). English marine geologist Robert M. Carter (b. 1942) on Jan. 19 in Townsville, Australia (heart attack). Am. "Salvatore Tessio in The Godfather" Abe Vigoda (b. 1921) on Jan. 26 in Woodland Park, N.J. Am. NFL QB Ken "the Snake" Stabler (b. 1945) on July 8 in Gulfport, Miss. (colon cancer). Am. Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell (b. 1930) on Feb. 4 in Lake Worth, Fla. Am. Supreme Court justice (1986-2016) Antonin Scalia (b. 1936) on Feb. 12/13 in Shaffer, Tx.; Pres. Obama snubs his funeral. Italian philosopher-novelist Umberto Eco (b. 1932) on Feb. 19 in Milan: "The first duty of intellectuals: to remain silent when they cannot be of any use"; "You can tell a lunatic by the fact that sooner or later he brings up the Templars"; "There are lunatics who don't talk about the Templars, but those who do are the most insidious"; "The Templars have something to do with everything." Am. "Left Behind" novelist Tim LaHaye (b. 1926) on July 25 in San Diego County, Calif.; sold 80M copies. Am. "To Kill a Mockingbird" novelist Harper Lee (b. 1926) on Feb. 19 in Monroeville, Ala. British #1 pilot Capt. Eric Brown (b. 1919) on Feb. 21 in Redhill, Surrey. Am. MIss America 1951 Yolande Margaret Betbeze Fox (b. 1928) on Feb. 22 in Washington, D.C. (lung cancer). Am. "Cool Hand Luke" actor George Kennedy (b. 1925) on Feb. 28 in Middleton, Idaho (heart disease). Am. "The Prince of Tides", "The Great Santini" novelist Pat Conroy (b. 1945) on Mar. 4 in Beaufort, S.C. (pancreatic cancer). Am. Repub. First Lady (1981-9) Nancy Reagan (b. 1921) on Mar. 6 in Los Angeles, Calif. (heart failure). English record producer George Martin (b. 1926) on Mar. 8. Am. Johnson & Johnson CEO (1989-2002) Ralph S. Larsen (b. 1938) on Mar. 9 in Naples, Fla. Am. "Emerson, Lake & Palmer" musician Keith Emerson (b. 1944) on Mar. 10 in Santa Monica, Calif. (suicide). Am. economist Lloyd Shapley (b. 1923) on Mar. 12 in Tucson, Ariz.; 2012 Nobel Econ. Prize. Am. singer Frank Sinatra Jr. (b. 1944) on Mar. 16 in Daytona Beach, Fla. (heart attack). English novelist Barry Hines (b. 1939) on Mar. 18 in Hoyland. Am. Intel Corp. CEO Andrew Grove (b. 1936) on Mar. 21 in Los Altos, Calif. Am. "Hellen Keller in The Miracle Worker" actress Patty Duke (b. 1946) on Mar. 29 in Coeur d'Alene, Ohio (ruptured intenstine). Am. "Thomas Jefferson in 1776" actor Ken Howard (b. 1944) on Mar. 23 in Los Angeles, Calif. Am. "The Waltons" novelist Earl Hamner Jr. (b. 1923) on Mar. 24 in Los Angeles, Calif. (cancer). Am. comedian Garry Shandling (b. 1949) on Mar. 24 in Los Angeles, Calif. (heart attack). Am. "Legends of the Fall" novelist Jim Harrison (b. 1937) on Mar. 26 in Patagonia, Ariz. Am. Franciscan nun Mother Angelica (b. 1923) on Mar. 27 (Easter Sun.) in Hanceville, Ala. U.S. secy. of education #1 (1979-81) Shirley Hufstedler (b. 1925) on Mar. 30 in Glendale, Calif. Iraqi-born British architect Zaha Hadid (b. 1950) on Mar. 31 in Miami, Fla. (heart attack). Am. country singer Merle Haggard (b. 1937) on Apr. 6 in Palo Cedro, Calif. (pneumonia). Canadian playwright Marcel Dube (b. 1930) on Apr. 7 in Montreal, Quebec; produced 300+ works. English physicist Sir David J.C. MacKay (b. 1967) on Apr. 14 in Cambridge (stomach ccancer). Am. atmospheric scientist William M. Gray (b. 1929) on Apr. 16 in Fort Collins, Colo. Am. "Marie Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond" actress Doris Roberts (b. 1925) on Apr. 17 in Los Angeles, Calif. Indian-born Am. atmospheric scientist S. Ichtiaque Rasool (b. 1930) on Apr. 20. Am. "Purple Rain" rock star Prince (b. 1958) on Apr. 21 in Chanhassen, Minn. (fentanyl OD); sold 150M+ albums; coincidentally Niagara Falls is turned purple to celebrate Elizabeth II's 90th birthday: "Don't hate me because I'm fabulous." Am. Baptist pastor Peter Ruckman (b. 1921) on Apr. 21 in Pensacola, Fla. Am. Okla. gov. #20 (1971-5) David Hall (b. 1930) on May 6 in San Diego, Calif. (stroke). Am. "Martin Lane in The Patty Duke Show" actor William Schallert (b. 1922) on May 8 in Pacific Palisades, Calif; dies 6 weeks after Patty Duke (Mar. 29). French astrophysicist Andre Brahic (b. 1942) on May 15 in Paris. Canadian-Am. TV journalist Morley Safer (b. 1931) on May 19 in Manhattan, N.Y. Am. heavyweight boxing champ Muhammad Ali (b. 1942) on June 3 in Scottsdale, Ariz. (septic shock and Parkinson's); retired with a 56-5-0 record (37 KOs): "It's hard to be humble when you're as great as I am"; "The man who views the world at fifty the same as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life." English "Equus" playwright Sir Peter Shaffer (b. 1926) on June 6 in County Cork, Ireland. Canadian ice hockey player "Mr. Hockey" Gordie Howe (b. 1928) on June 10 in Toledo, Ohio. Am. singer Christina Grimmie (b. 1994) on June 11 in Orlando, Fla. (shot by 27-y.-o. Kevin James Loibi after a concert performance at The Plaza Live with Before You Exit). Am. "Pavel Chekov in Star Trek" actor Anton Yelchin (b. 1989) on June 19 in Studio City, Calif (driveway accident). Am. "Future Shock" writer Alvin Toffler (b. 1928) on June 27 in Los Angeles, Calif. French poet Yves Bonnefoy (b. 1923) on July 1 in Paris: "One should not call oneself a poet. It would be pretentious. It would mean that one has resolved the problems poetry presents. Poet is a word one can use when speaking of others, if one admires them sufficiently. If someone asks me what I do, I say I'm a critic, or a historian." Romanian-born Am. Jewish activist Elie Wiesel (b. 1928) on July 2 in New Yok City; 1986 Nobel Peace Prize: "No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior. All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them." Sicilian moss boss Bernardo Provenzano (b. 1933) on July 13 in Milan, Italy (bladder cancer); dies in prison. Am. "Pretty Woman", "The Odd Couple", "Happy Days", "Mork & Mindy" dir.-producer Garry Marshall (b. 1934) on July 19 in Burbank, Calif. (pneumonia). Dahomey pres. (1968-9) Emile Derlin Zinsou (b. 1918) on July 28 in Cotonou. Canadian-Am. sports journalist John Saunders (b. 1955) on Aug. 10 in New York City. English "R2-D2 in Star Wars" actor Kenny Baker (b. 1934) on Aug. 13 in Manchester. Zanzibar pres. (1972-84) Aboud Jumbe Mwinyi (b. 1920) on Aug. 14 in Kigamboni, Dar es Salaam. Am. TV journalist John McLaughlin (b. 1927) on Aug. 16. Canadian "Love Story" dir. Arthur Hiller (b. 1923) on Aug. 17 in Los Angeles, Calif.; dies almost 2 mo. after his wife (since 1948) Gwen (June 24). Am. poet Max Ritvo (b. 1990) on Aug. 23 in Los Angeles, Calif. (Ewing's sarcoma). Am. "Dan Briggs in Mission: Impossible" "Adam Schiff in Law & Order" actor Steven Hill (b. 1922) on Aug. 23 in Monsey, N.Y. Am. physicist James Watson Cronin (b. 1931) on Aug. 25 in St. Paul, Minn.; 1980 Nobel Physics Prize. Am "Willy Wonka" actor Gene Wilder (b. 1933) on Aug. 29 in Stamford, Conn. (Alzheimer's). Am. Boeing 747 aircraft designer Joe Sutter (b. 1921) on Aug. 30 in Seattle, Wash. (pneumonia). Am. conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly (b. 1924) on Sept. 5 in St. Louis, Mo. Am. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" playwright Edward Albee (b. 1928) on Sept. 16 in Montauk, N.Y. Cuban-born Am. baseball pitcher Jose Fernandez (b. 1992) on Sept. 25 in Miami Beach, Fla. (boating accident). Am. golfer Arnold Palmer (b. 1929) on Sept. 25 in Pittsburgh, Penn. Israeli pres. #9 (2007-14) and PM #8 (1995-6) Shimon Peres (b. 1923) on Sept. 28 in Tel HaShomer, Ramat Gan; 1994 Nobel Peace Prize; leaves behind a Marshall Plan for the Middle East, stressing hi tech; his funeral on Sept. 30 is attended by Pres. Obama, who utters the soundbyte: "In many ways, he reminded me of some other giants of the 20th century that I've had the honor to meet... Leaders who... find no need to posture or traffic in what's popular in the moment; people who speak with depth and knowledge, not in sound bites. They find no interest in polls or fads... [who] could be true to [their] convictions even if they cut against the grain of current opinion." Am. scholar Jacob Neusner (b. 1932) on Oct. 8 in Rhinebeck, N.Y.; wrote or edited 950+ books. Thai king (1946-2016) Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) (b. 1927) on Oct. 13 in Bangkok; leaves a $30B fortune; world's longest reigning monarch; the govt. announces a 1-year period of mourning; too bad, ultra-royalism leaves a legacy of jails filled with people accused of lese-majeste, serving 15 years per offense. Japanese mountaineer Junko Tabei (b. 1939) on Oct. 20 in Kawagoe, Saitama. Am. journalist Gavin MacFayden (b. 1940) on Oct. 22 in London, England (lung cancer) (murdered by Hillary's people?). Am. evangelical Christian cartoonist Jack Chick (b. 1924) on Oct. 23 in Alhambra, Calif. Am. activist Tom Hayden (b. 1939) on Oct. 23 in Santa Monica, Calif. Uruguayan pres. #38 (2000-5) Jorge Batlle (b. 1927) on Oct. 24 in Montevideo. Am. economist Charles Wolf Jr. (b. 1924) on Oct. 24 in Los Angeles, Calif. Canadian "Bird on the Wire" musician Leonard Cohen (b. 1934) on Nov. 7 in Los Angeles, Calif. U.S. atty. gen. #78 (1993-2001) Janet Reno (b. 1938) on Nov. 7 in Miami, Fla. (Alzheimer's). Am. "Napoleon Solo in The Man from U.N.C.L.E." Robert Vaughn (b. 1932) on Nov. 11 in Danbury, Conn. (leukemia). Am. serial murderer James Dale Ritchie (b. 1976) on Nov. 12 in Anchorage, Alaska; killed in shootout with police. Arab prince Turki II bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (b. 1934) on Nov. 12. Am. TV journalist Gwen Ifill (b. 1955) on Nov. 14 in Washington, D.C. (cancer). Algerian Muslim reformer Malek Chebel (b. 1953) on Nov. 12 in France: "The majority of Muslims are caught between two groups: on the one hand a small group of violent Muslims who want to Islamize the world; and on the other hand the majority of the Western people who don't understand Islam." Am. artificial heart surgeon Denton Cooley (b. 1920) on Nov. 18 in Houston, Tex. - died of a broken heart? Am. "Carol Brady in The Brady Bunch" actress Florence Henderson (b. 1934) on Nov. 24 (Thanksgiving Day) in Los Angeles Calif. (heart failure). Am. leftist journalist Bill Mandel (b. 1917) on Nov. 24 in Kensington, Calif. Cuban dictator PM (1959-76) and pres. (1976-2008) Fidel Castro (b. 1926) on Nov. 25 in Havana; Pres. Obama issues a condolence, praising "the countless ways in which Fidel Castro altered the course of individual lives, families, and of the Cuban nation", along with "the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him." Am. NBC-TV CEO (1981-6) Grant Tinker (b. 1925) on Nov. 28 in Calif. Am. astronaut John Glenn (b. 1921) on Dec. 8 in Columbus, Ohio. Dutch heroine Marion Pritchard (b. 1920) on Dec. 11 in Washington, D.C. Canadian "Jason Seaver in Growing Pains" actor Alan Thicke (b. 1947) on Dec. 13 in Burbank, Calif. (heart attack). Welsh "Malcolm Merriweather in The Andy Griffith Show", "Col. Archibald Gracie in Titanic" actor Bernard Fox (b. 1927) on Dec. 14 in Van Nuys, Calif. (heart failure). Am. Heimlich Maneuver surgeon Henry Heimlich (b. 1920) on Dec. 17 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Russian ambassador Andrei Karlov (b. 1954) on Dec. 19 in Ankara, Turkey (assassinated). English "Watership Down" novelist Richard Adams (b. 1920) on Dec. 24. English "Faith" musician George Michael (b. 1963) on Dec. 25 in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire (heart failure). Am. cancer researcher Peter Nowell (b. 1928) on Dec. 26 in Philadelphia, Pann. Am. "Princess Leia in Star Wars" actress-writer Carrie Fisher (b. 1956) on Dec. 27 in Los Angeles, Calif. (heart failure). Am. "Kathy Selden in Singin' in the Rain" actress Debbie Reynolds (b. 1932) on Dec. 28 in Los Angeles, Calif. (stroke).