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gyrlversion · 5 years

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From 1994 to 2019: A Timeline Of The Allegations Against R. Kelly

By Lauren Rearick

On Thursday, July 11, R. Kelly was arrested in Chicago, Illinois, on charges stemming from two separate investigations by law enforcement in New York City and Chicago, CNN reported.

In a statement posted on its website, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Illinois confirmed Kelly’s arrest was related to charges of federal child pornography and obstruction. The U.S. District Court in Chicago charged Kelly with nine counts of enticing a minor, three counts of child pornography, and one count of obstruction of justice, the Chicago-Sun Times reported. The office alleged that Kelly engaged in sex acts with five minors and had recorded some of the acts.

The Eastern District of New York charged the singer with racketeering for allegedly operating a criminal enterprise that promoted Kelly’s music and recruited women and girls to engage in illegal sexual activity, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Illinois’s statement confirmed.

Steve Greenberg, Kelly’s attorney, addressed the new charges in a statement on Twitter. “The conduct alleged appears to be largely be the same as the conduct previously alleged against Mr. Kelly in his current state indictment and his former state charges that he was acquitted of,” Greenberg wrote. “Most, if not all of the conduct alleged, is decades old. He and his lawyers look forward to his day in court, to the truth coming out and to his vindication from what has been an unprecedented assault by others for their own personal gain.”

Two other men, Derrel McDavid and Milton Brown, were also charged in the Chicago case, the Sun-Times reports. Brown was charged with one count of conspiracy to receive child pornography, while McDavid was charged with one count of conspiracy to receive child pornography, two counts of receiving child pornography, and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.

According to an indictment filed by the Northern District of Illinois, the Chicago charges date back to the 1990s, when Kelly had allegedly subjected five underage girls to “sexual contact and sexual acts,” recorded the assaults on video, and later lost the recordings, the Chicago-Sun Times reported. (Per RAINN, Illinois law stipulates that sexual acts by someone over 17 made against someone who is at least 13 years old but younger than 18 are considered to be criminal sexual assault.) Kelly and McDavid then allegedly attempted to purchase back the videos from an acquaintance for “hundreds of thousands of dollars.” Per reports, the unnamed acquittance later threatened to hold a news conference about the videos, but Kelly and McDavid allegedly paid the person $170,000 to remain quiet; the charges alleged that the two had also promised to pay one of the minors in the video and another person who attempted to return copies of the videos, and asked them to take a polygraph test to prove they had no other remaining videos in their possession.

The United States District Court of Eastern New York announced the extent of its five counts, which includes kidnapping and sexual exploitation of a child, against Kelly on Friday, NBC 4 reported. Court documents alleged that Kelly and members of his entourage including managers, bodyguards, drivers, and personal assistants had attended Kelly’s concerts with the purpose of recruiting women and girls to engage in sexual activity with Kelly. The documents go on to allege that those targeted by Kelly or his entourage were then required to follow strict rules set forth by the singer.

Kelly is being held in at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago, the Sun-Times reported; Greenberg said a bail hearing would likely occur early next week. Based on the results of a Friday, July 12, hearing, it was possible that Kelly could be moved to New York City to face charges there. If Kelly is convicted, he could face up to a 195-year prison sentence, the Sun-Times reported.

These new charges come just six weeks after Cook County, Illinois prosecutors charged R. Kelly with 11 felony counts of sexual abuse; the charges are believed to be related to one individual. The previous charges included four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, two counts of criminal sexual assault by force, two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, and three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse against a minor between the ages of 13 to 16.

Since 1994, Kelly has faced continued allegations of sexual misconduct, beginning with a marriage to Aaliyah that allegedly occurred when the singer was a teenager. An exposé published by the Chicago Sun-Timesfollowed in 2000; Kelly later faced several lawsuits and charges in 2001 and 2002. (Some were settled out of court, and Kelly was eventually found not guilty by a jury on charges of child pornography.) Moreover, the Lifetime documentary, Surviving R. Kelly, brought renewed attention to the decades of misconduct allegedly committed by the singer. And while Kelly may continue to deny these accusations, the #MeToo Movement has inspired continued protests and backlash against the singer, including the #MuteRKelly campaign, led by Oronike Odeleye and Kenyette Barnes.

The following is a timeline of what we know of the allegations made against Kelly.

Cook County Sheriff’s Office via Getty Images

August 1994: After previously working together on the 1993 release of Aaliyah’s debut album, Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number, Kelly and the singer are married in a ceremony on August 31, as detailed in a WBEZ timeline by the journalist Jim DeRogatis.

It was discovered by Vibe that an altered birth certificate, which listed Aaliyah as being 18, had been used to obtain a marriage certificate. According to a video featuring R. Kelly from 1994, which was later resurfaced by TMZ in 2019, the singer knew Aaliyah was underaged; he identified her in the video as being 14 years old. He would later claim he had “no idea” she was 15 at the time of their marriage.

The marriage was later annulled in October 1994, as reported by WBEZ.

December 1996: Tiffany Hawkins files a $10 million lawsuit against Kelly, alleging that she experienced “personal injuries and emotional distress,” during a three-year period she spent with the singer beginning in 1991, the Chicago Sun Times reports. Kelly denies her allegations.

According to Hawkins, she allegedly started seeing a 24-year-old Kelly when she was 15. The suit was settled out of court.

Kelly later countersues Hawkins, alleging that she demanded “substantial sums of cash” and help with her singing career, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. His suit was voluntarily dismissed.

December 2000: In a report published by the Chicago Sun Times and written by Jim DeRogatis and Abdon Pallasch, it’s confirmed that the Chicago Police Department had investigated reports of Kelly engaging in sexual acts with underage girls. The story examined Kelly’s past relationships with Aaliyah, Hawkins, and Chicago-area students. According to their reporting, interviews and court records told of multiple instances in which Kelly would allegedly “seek out underage females.”

December 2001: In a second lawsuit filed against Kelly, then-17-year-old Tracy Sampson accuses the singer of beginning a relationship with her, according to the WBEZ timeline. In her lawsuit, Sampson, a former intern with Epic Records, alleges that Kelly forced her to engage in sexual acts and that she was “coerced into receiving oral sex from a girl I did not want to have sex with.”

During a Dateline interview that aired in 2019, Sampson said the case was settled out of court in 2002.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

February 2002: The Chicago Sun-Times was the recipient of a tape that depicted Kelly have sex with an underage girl, MTV reported at the time. The Chicago police confirmed to MTV that they too had a copy of the tape and were investigating what was on it.

Although the identity of the girl on the tape was not made public, MTV reported that Sparkle, an artist who collaborated with Kelly on her 1998 single “Be Careful,” alleged it was her 14-year-old niece in the video, and that she had introduced her niece to the rapper.

In a statement made to MTV, Chicago police spokesperson Officer Pat Camden, said, “Until our investigation is complete, we can’t confirm or deny that [Sparkle is the girl’s aunt].”

As the New York Times reported that year, Kelly denied that he was the man on the tape in an interview with BET.

April and May 2002: Kelly is sued twice within a two-month period, the BBC reports. According to MTV, Chicago resident Patrice Jones sued the singer for allegedly starting a sexual relationship with her when she was 16 years old.

In her suit, Jones also alleges that she became pregnant during her time with Kelly, and that she was made to have an abortion. The suit was later settled out of court and Kelly’s lawyer Gerry Margolis called the case “a collection of half-truths, distortions, and outright lies.”

One month later, a 33-year-old Montina Woods sues Kelly, alleging that the singer had been secretly recording them having sex, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. In a statement given to MTV at the time, representatives for Kelly called the suit “ridiculous and nonsensical.”

The case was settled out of court.

June 2002: The Chicago Police Department and the Cook County State Attorney’s Office announce that Kelly has been indicted and charged with 21 counts of child pornography. In a press release as reported by MTV, the Chicago Police Department alleges that Kelly “videotaped various sex acts with a minor female” between November 1997 and February 1998.

According to CBS, Kelly was released on $750,000 bail after pleading not guilty.

June 2008: After nearly six years of trial delays, Kelly’s case is put before a Chicago jury. When the trial begins, Kelly faces a reduced 14 counts of child pornogaphy, the New York Times reports.

The trial goes into June, and features testimony from 14 people who knew and confirmed the identity of the minor depicted in the tape, WBEZ reports. Additionally, Stephanie Edwards, who had worked as Kelly’s assistant, identified the video as featuring the singer in it.

The jury deliberates for one day before finding Kelly not guilty. In an interview with the Chicago Sun-=Times, a jury member explained the decision, saying, “Neither side proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt, but that’s why we had to go for not guilty.”

Gary Miller/WireImage

July 2017: Following his acquittal, Kelly returns to the limelight, is featured as a festival headliner at Bonnaroo, performs at the 2010 World Cup, and is honored by Billboard in 2011. However, in July 2017, Buzzfeed publishes an article by Jim DeRogatis that includes new allegations against Kelly.

The article alleges that six women, between the ages of 18 and 31, are being held at homes owned by Kelly in Chicago and Atlanta. Speaking with family members of the women involved and former associates of Kelly’s, Buzzfeed reports that Kelly forces the women to dress in jogging suits, oversees their phone calls, and reportedly “verbally” and “physically” abuses any of the women who do not follow his rules.

In an emailed statement to Buzzfeed, Kelly’s lawyer, Linda Mensch, denies the charges. “We can only wonder why folks would persist in defaming a great artist who loves his fans, works 24/7, and takes care of all of the people in his life,” she wrote.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

August to October 2017: Following the release of Buzzfeed’s story, two women come forward to share allegations of sexual misconduct committed by Kelly.

In an interview with Buzzfeed, Jerhonda Pace alleges that she started a sexual relationship with Kelly in 2008. At the time, she was 16 years old. Pace alleges that Kelly secretly filmed their sexual encounters, required her to dress in baggy clothes, and forced her to ask permission before doing anything.

Pace admitted that she had initially lied about her age to Kelly, telling him she was 19. When she told Kelly the truth, he reportedly responded by telling her it was “fine,” but said she should continue to tell others she was 19 years old.

Representatives for Kelly denied the reports, telling Buzzfeed, “The allegations against Mr. Kelly are false, and are being made by individuals known to be dishonest. It is clear these continuing stories are the result of the effort of those with personal agendas who are working in concert to interfere with and damage his career.”

During an October interview with Rolling Stone, Kitti Jones detailed the “red flags” she encountered during her two-year relationship with Kelly. The former DJ — who CNN reports was in her 30s at the time — alleges that Kelly physically assaulted her, forced her to have sex with other women, and dictated her life.

In a statement to Rolling Stone, representatives for Kelly denied the accusations. “It is unfortunate that Ms. Jones, after public statements to the contrary, is now attempting to portray a relationship history with Mr. Kelly as anything other than consensual involvement between two adults,” they wrote.

April 2018: As another woman comes forward to accuse Kelly of allegedly coercing her to join a “sex cult,” the singer’s lawyer, assistant, and publicist all quit, Billboard reports.

Chance Yeh/Getty Images for A+E

December 2018 to January 2019: Lifetime begins airing Surviving R. Kelly, a documentary series by the filmmaker dream hampton that examines past and current allegations of sexual misconduct allegedly committed by the singer. Through interviews with music journalists, survivors of Kelly’s alleged misconduct, and those who once knew Kelly, the series brought further attention to stories that once made headlines. Additionally, artists including Chance the Rapper and Lady Gaga came forward to apologize for their past collaborations with Kelly.

In a statement to CNN, Steve Greenberg, Kelly’s attorney, denies any wrongdoing. “Someone with an agenda has done a hit piece,” he said.

February 2019: On February 22, 2019, the Cook County State’s Attorney announces Kelly is being indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, CNN reports. The indictments involve four victims between the ages of 13 and 16. The alleged incidents of misconduct reportedly occurred between 1998 and 2010.

The New Yorker reports that Kelly is also being investigated by the investigative division of the Department of Homeland Security, the F.B.I., and the I.R.S.

Greenberg denied the charges made against Kelly, saying, “I think all the women are lying.”

On February 25, Kelly is released from jail after paying the $100,000 bail, Variety reported.

March 2019: In an interview with Gayle King that aired Wednesday, March 6, on CBS This Morning, Kelly denied all of the recent charges made against him. He also denied ever having sex with an underage girl. “I have been assassinated,” he said. “I have been buried alive. But I’m alive.”

The clip garnered criticism from late night talk show hosts while journalists called him “downright hysterical” and “indignant.”

On the same day that his interview aired, Kelly was taken back to prison, CBS reports. After failing to pay $161,663 in child support, the singer was arrested, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to the Associated Press. A hearing regarding the owed child support is set for March 13, 2019, the Associated Press reports. Kelly will remain in prison until he is able to pay the money owed.

May 2019: Three months after announcing Kelly was being indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sex abuse, Cook County, Illinois prosecutors filed 11 new felony counts of sexual abuse against Kelly, CBS News reported. According to the Sun-Times, the indictment involves one person, who is believed to have been named in the February 2019 indictments.

Kelly faces four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, two counts of criminal sexual assault by force, two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, and three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse against a victim between the ages of 13 to 16; a court appearance has been scheduled for June 6. In a statement released to CNN through Kelly’s crisis manager, Darrell Johnson, Kelly “maintains his innocence and denies all accusations brought against him.”

July 2019: On July 11, Illinois prosecutors charged Kelly with nine counts of enticing a minor, three counts of child pornography, and one count of obstruction of justice in a federal indictment, the Chicago-Sun Times reported. Federal prosecutors in New York City also charged the singer with racketeering and kidnapping, alleging that Kelly attempted to recruit women and girls that attended his concerts to engage in illegal sexual activity, NBC 4 reported.

Kelly’s attorney again denied the charges, saying, “The conduct alleged appears to largely be the same as the conduct previously alleges against Mr. Kelly in his current State indictment and his former State charges that he was acquitted of,” Greenberg said. “Most, if not all of the conduct alleged, is decades old.”

This is an ongoing timeline and MTV News will update as news develops.

The post From 1994 to 2019: A Timeline Of The Allegations Against R. Kelly appeared first on Gyrlversion.

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iverykittenbouquetfan-blog · 6 years

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R. Kelly Launching New Website?

Facebook shuts down R. Kelly’s page Surviving Lies.

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maybachmediacollection · 6 years

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R Kelly "Surviving Lies" Facebook Page Purporting To Expose Women In The "Surviving R Kelly" Docuseries Deleted

R Kelly “Surviving Lies” Facebook Page Purporting To Expose Women In The “Surviving R Kelly” Docuseries Deleted

A newly launched Facebook page that sought to defend R. Kelly and “expose” his accusers in the aftermath of Surviving R. Kelly has been pulled off the social network for violating terms of service.

On Monday, after the six-part docuseries’ weekend run on Lifetime, “Kelly and his camp” were behind a pair of sites, a Facebook page called Surviving Lies and an in-the-works website bearing the same…

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#Docuseries Deleted #Lies" Facebook Page #Purporting To Expose #R Kelly "Surviving #Surviving R Kelly #Women In The

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blazegist1 · 6 years

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R Kelly Sets To Expose Those Accusing Him And Why

Kelly is reportedly set to tell his side of the story after Lifetime’s docuseries ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ aired.

The R & B legend who has been severally accused of horrific abuse by multiple women in the docuseries. But he maintains his innocence and intends to “expose” his accusers via a new website called surviving lies.

Sources close to R. Kelly reportedly revealed that he and his team are in the…

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#R. Kelly

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jamn957 · 6 years

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via What's Trending: Jamn 957

#What's Trending: Jamn 957

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juliestacy · 6 years

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R. Kelly set to 'expose' accusers and tell his side of the story via new website tagged âSurviving Liesâ

R. Kelly set to ‘expose’ accusers and tell his side of the story via new website tagged âSurviving Liesâ

R. Kelly set to 'expose' accusers and tell his side of the story via new website tagged ‘Surviving Lies’

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naijamoment · 6 years

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R. Kelly set to 'expose' accusers and tell his side of the story via new website tagged ‘Surviving Lies’

R. Kelly set to ‘expose’ accusers and tell his side of the story via new website tagged ‘Surviving Lies’

R. Kelly is reportedly set to tell his side of the story after Lifetime’s docuseries ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ aired.

The R & B legend was accused of horrific abuse by multiple women in the docuseries. But he maintains his innocence and intends to “expose” his accusers via a new website called survivinglies.com.

Sources close to R. Kelly reportedly revealed that he and his team are in the middle of…

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#R. Kelly

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ukimmigrationmatters · 4 years

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Unemployment could reach 4 million, OBR warns, so why are home buyers snapping up UK property?

UK Property prices rise after stamp duty cut, despite rising unemployment. The UK housing market is rebounding fast after a tax cut by the Chancellor Rishi Sunak, according to the property website Rightmove.

Other articles available at Money Tips Podcast - www.moneytipsdaily.com

1. UK unemployment rate could hit 15 per cent with second Covid wave, says OECD

2. British Chambers of Commerce said 28% of employers may cut jobs in next 3 months

3. UK Mortgages becoming more difficult to obtain with and more expensive

4. Government planning CGT ‘tax grab’ on buy-to-let property investors

5. Nationwide now lending 90% for first time buyers reversing previous change

6. Stamp Duty slashed until 31 March 2021 by raising the threshold to 500,000

7. New planning rules will open up more opportunities to make money in property

8. Opportunity is everywhere for everyone, especially in property! But you have ACT!

9. Even the 'Secret law of attraction' requires you to get off your ass and TAKE ACTION!

10. You don’t need your own money to create a second income in property

11. Time to your economy or Uconomy started whatever the economy is doing!

12. You can create a second income during the lockdown…and come out stronger

13. Learn how to make money from property without deposits, mortgages or cash

Millions of people face a bleak future post-Coronavirus lockdown, as businesses disappear and the job furlough scheme eventually comes to an end. However, life doesn’t have to end because of lockdown! You can join thousands of ordinary people who have increased their income and added streams of new income during this period.

Are you ready to adapt to the new economic model?

As lockdown restrictions around the world are being eased, the economic model has subtly changed forever. How will you adapt to this new way of working and running a business, what obstacles and opportunities lies ahead? Will you be a participant or spectator in this revolution?

By Charles Kelly, Property Investor, Author of Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness and creator of Money Tips Podcast.

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#property #home buyer #business #property investors

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labelleperfumery · 6 years

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R. Kelly To 'Expose' Accusers One at a Time on New Facebook Page, Website

R. Kelly To ‘Expose’ Accusers One at a Time on New Facebook Page, Website

R. Kelly is vowing to expose his accusers for what he calls blatant lies being spewed on Lifetime’s docuseries — and he’s going down the list one by one … TMZ has learned. Sources close to Kelly tell us he and his camp are in the middle of…

from TMZ.com http://www.tmz.com/2019/01/07/r-kelly-expose-discredit-accusers-new-facebook-page-website-surviving-lifetime-docuseries/

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newstfionline · 8 years

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Trump vs. the media: the war over facts

Tom Fiedler, CS Monitor, March 11, 2017

BOSTON--President Trump has repeatedly claimed that, were it not for massive voter fraud, he--not Hillary Clinton--would have won the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes. He alleges that “thousands” of Massachusetts residents were bused into New Hampshire to vote against him. Both charges lack evidence.

His claims to have drawn record crowds to his inauguration collide with the reality of aerial photographs showing large empty areas of standing room. He won the election despite asserting among other falsehoods that climate change is a Chinese hoax, that campaign rival Ted Cruz’s father conspired with Lee Harvey Oswald in the Kennedy assassination, and the long-running trope that Barack Obama was born in Kenya.

When Mr. Trump is confronted with contradictory evidence, his response isn’t to admit error, or even to cease repeating the claims. He attacks the critics, none more vociferously than the news media. Presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway, in one confrontation with a TV interviewer, controversially referred to “alternative facts.”

As stunning as this may seem, historians and veteran reporters can point to numerous precedents. For example, in what remains the low point of press freedom in the US, President John Adams signed the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798, which, among other things, criminalized criticism of government officials. Several newspaper editors--all aligned with Adams’s political rival, Thomas Jefferson--were jailed under those laws.

And Jefferson was more than ambivalent about the press himself. In 1807 he wrote: “Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. The real extent of this state of misinformation is known only to those who are in situations to confront facts within their knowledge with the lies of the day.” Abraham Lincoln at the height of the Civil War arrested and imprisoned the editors of two New York newspapers who had published a fake story alleging that Lincoln was about to draft 400,000 men. The newspapers and the wire service that transmitted the story were shut down.

A century later, Richard Nixon’s vice president, Spiro Agnew, mocked the press as “nattering nabobs of negativism,” and Nixon’s attorney general, John Mitchell, described in an off-color phrase what would happen to Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham if the paper printed a story linking Nixon to the infamous Watergate scandal. (The Post published the story and a sanitized version of Mitchell’s quote.) Nixon even kept what he called his “enemies list” on which reporters were heavily represented.

In Trump’s attacks on the press he may have found a model in George Wallace, the Alabama segregationist governor and populist presidential candidate. A feisty campaigner who favored mass rallies with a tent-revival feel--something Trump enjoys as well--Wallace routinely and with relish used traveling reporters as his foils. I covered one Wallace rally in the spring of 1976 along with a New York Times reporter who had brought his 9-year-old son with him. True to script, Wallace launched into an anti-press tirade in which he called The New York Times “communist propaganda.” He then pointed to the roped-off press section and, in his thick Southern drawl, shouted “and that man right over there works for The New York Times.” Wallace grinned broadly as the lathered crowd responded with hissing, booing, and cursing in the direction of the reporter.

This veteran newsman had endured such taunts at rallies many times before and was unfazed. But his terrified child burst into tears. When that was brought to Wallace’s attention after the rally, he summoned the Times reporter and his son to his hotel room. When they entered the suite, Wallace quickly picked up the trembling boy, wrapped him in a bear hug, and said in a soothing tone: “Listen here, son, don’t you pay no never mind to the things I said about your daddy tonight; it’s just politics.”

But are Trump’s venomous attacks--propelled to countless true believers in his tweets and passed along on partisan websites--“just politics”? The consequences to some journalists have been real and personal. Reporters who have criticized Trump have had their home addresses and the names of their children distributed through extremist sites. The Washington Post retained security guards to protect one of its reporters who had been threatened anonymously for his coverage. Female journalists and reporters with Jewish-sounding names regularly endure scathing assaults on social media. Former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly’s criticisms of Trump so riled some in her audience that she hired an armed guard to accompany her and her children as they vacationed at Disney World.

These threats and attacks come because the news reporters are doing their jobs. They report embarrassing facts about Trump’s behavior or his predilection for repeating statements that are--and you can choose your own word here--inaccurate, falsehoods, exaggerations, or lies.

Again, as with presidential disdain for the press, there is ample precedent of presidents who engage in exaggeration, hyperbole, and lying. Contrary to the myth of George Washington and the cherry tree, presidents regularly assault truth, sometimes with major consequences. Lyndon Johnson manipulated a supposed attack by Vietnamese gunboats on a US warship in the Gulf of Tonkin to justify America’s massive engagement in Vietnam. Dwight Eisenhower insisted that a plane shot down over the Soviet Union at the height of the cold war wasn’t a US plane--until the Soviets produced the captured pilot who had survived the crash of his U-2. Bill Clinton infamously went on national television to say, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman,” contrary to all later evidence. In her first presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton claimed she dodged sniper fire after landing at an airfield in war-torn Bosnia in 1996, yet video showed her placidly being greeted by local officials and children. In 2002 George W. Bush justified the invasion of Iraq by claiming to have “proof” that Saddam Hussein was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction--“proof” that didn’t exist.

And long before Trump, there was a US president whose statements were so outlandish, so forcefully repeated--and so demonstrably false--that the press nearly gave up reporting them. That was Ronald Reagan, whose authorized biographer, Edmund Morris, described him as a “fabricator” who had an “embarrassing propensity to just make things up.” Reagan told Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir that he was in Germany with American troops in 1945 as they liberated two Nazi concentration camps exposing the horror of the Holocaust. Yet Reagan had spent the entire war in Culver City, Calif., making Army training films where he viewed footage of soldiers liberating a camp. The film became Reagan’s reality.

And at a White House ceremony honoring war heroes, Reagan recounted the bravery of a World War II bomber pilot whose plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire. The pilot ordered the crew to bail out, but one crewman was too wounded to do so. Reagan told the audience that the pilot chose to remain on the plane to comfort the crewman as they spiraled to their deaths, thereby earning the pilot a Medal of Honor. Reporters quickly discovered that the story was pure fiction, a scene in the wartime Hollywood movie “A Wing and a Prayer.”

White House reporters were flummoxed by the president’s disregard for facts like these--and even more flummoxed by the public’s disinterest in holding him to account. In a 1983 New York Times article, Steven R. Weisman noted that reporters wearied of reporting the president’s frequent “debatable assertions of fact” because the public seemed to shrug them off as “nits and nats” and “inside baseball.” When White House press secretary Larry Speakes was asked how it could be that Reagan would repeat stories that were provably false, Speakes replied, “If you tell the same story five times, it’s true.”

This history could support the argument that Trump’s disregard for fact-based statements isn’t a big deal. It might suggest that the public will even tire of being reminded of the president’s bouts with the facts and reporters will grow weary of reporting them. But there are differences between then and now. The ever-genial Reagan never treated the press as his enemy. Even when his stories were challenged, Reagan didn’t accuse the press of creating fake news, perhaps well aware that a solid majority of the public that had long gotten its news from trusted sources such as Walter Cronkite held the press in high regard.

No longer. Trust in the news media is at its lowest point since Gallup began measuring it in the 1970s. In a September 2015 Gallup poll, just 40 percent of voters said they have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in the press. That’s in stark contrast to the media’s high point of 72 percent in 1976 in the aftermath of their highly regarded coverage of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal. And it was down another eight percentage points, to 32 percent, in September 2016.

Nor are relations between the White House and the mainstream media likely to get more genial anytime soon. Mr. Bannon, in fact, recently vowed that they are “going to get worse--every day.” The president has said he won’t attend the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner. From the briefing podium, the administration appears to be implementing a media strategy that pushes back against the traditional news organizations that have covered the White House while favoring those that are unabashedly friendly to the president. White House press secretary Sean Spicer recently barred reporters from CNN, the Los Angeles Times, Politico, and The New York Times from participating in an informal daily briefing, while including reporters from such pro-Trump outlets as Breitbart and The Washington Times. Dean Baquet, executive editor of The New York Times said that “nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history of covering multiple administrations of different parties.”

So what does this mean? Like wounded animals, the news media seem to be easy prey for Trump’s persistent battering. An Emerson College survey in February found that 49 percent of registered voters said Trump was “more truthful” than the news media, while only 39 percent had the opposite view. If that situation is sustained, the news media’s ability to hold the president to account for misstatements or misbehavior will have limited, if any, impact. And reversing this situation will be difficult in large part because of the internet’s ability to provide echo chambers where individuals of all political stripes can find support for their beliefs. No longer is the news media able to fill its pre-internet role as the gatekeeper of reliable information, separating facts from “alternative facts,” a term that has quickly become shorthand for Orwellian falsehood, though Ms. Conway has said she simply meant an alternative perspective. Cognitive neuroscience tells us our beliefs are so tightly held that, even when presented with evidence to disprove them, the typical response is to reject the evidence rather than alter the belief.

At this point in the nation’s history, having a president with little regard for facts that challenge his beliefs isn’t a trivial matter. American democracy presupposes a well-informed citizenry--that is, it depends upon voters making decisions using factual information. Legendary columnist Walter Lippmann wrote in 1920, “There can be no liberty for a community which lacks the means by which to detect lies.” That is as true today as it was a century ago and serves well in defining the purpose of serious journalism in the Trump era.

#journalism in the Trump era #news media and president #Trump and news media #presidents and media

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ukimmigrationmatters · 4 years

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UK Property prices rise after stamp duty cut, say Rightmove

The UK housing market is rebounding fast after a tax cut by the Chancellor Rishi Sunak, according to the property website Rightmove.

The number of sales agreed in England soared by 35% in the five days following Rishi Sunak's announcement on July 8, Rightmove said.

The property market was showing signs of recovery, from a low in April, with agreed sales in England up 15% in June.

Sunak raised the threshold for paying the stamp duty tax on property purchases up to £500,000 until March 31, 2020.

Rightmove added that asking prices rose by 3.7% between June and July, with Estate Agents reporting increased interest and a shortage of property for sale.

However, mortgage lenders Nationwide and Halifax reported falls in house prices and mortgage approvals which slumped to the lowest on record in May, according to Bank of England data.

Rightmove said buyer enquiries across the UK since the start of July leapt by 75%.

Last week, Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, said there were signs of activity returning "quite strongly" in the housing market.

During the lockdown visits to Rightmove's website fell by 40% and most agents were closed for business.

The news comes at a time when hardly a day goes by without another announcement of redundancies and losses by a major employer. As many as 9 million workers are still on furlough and the OBR said unemployment could reach 4 million if the economy does not bounce back quickly.

Mortgage shortage coming as lenders start to tighten their belts, due to Coronavirus

Mortgage loans are being squeezed as lenders reduce number of products

Banks have informed the Bank of England that the supply of credit will fall this summer due to coronavirus pressures.

Lenders are taking a cautious approach to offering home loans, which is understandable in the current market where borrowers face uncertainty over their jobs and income. Lenders fear the number of borrowers defaulting on repayments could rise again.

Borrowers are reporting long delays in getting mortgages agreed and processed as lenders deal with backlogs.

Is it still worth investing in buy-to-let property?

Investment in buy-to-let properties can still be profitable when done professionally. However, there are still many other opportunities to make money in property without the need for buy-to-let mortgages, large deposits or high rates of tax.

Other articles available at Money Tips Podcast - www.moneytipsdaily.com

1. Mortgages will become more difficult to obtain with less products

2. Mortgages are more expensive and less competitive fixed rate offers

3. Demand for new mortgages is down say lenders due to lockdown

4. Government planning CGT ‘tax grab’ on buy-to-let property investors

5. “No DSS” tenant blanket ban by buy-to-let landlords ruled ‘unlawful’ by Judge

6. UK economy grew by 1.8% in May, 24.5% smaller than it was in ONS reports

7. UK's mobile providers will be banned from buying new Huawei 5G equipment

8. Singapore’s economy plunged by 41% in the last quarter the largest fall ever

9. Nationwide now lending 90% for first time buyers reversing previous change

10. Stamp Duty slashed until 31 March 2021 by raising the threshold to 500,000

11. Chancellor Rishi Sunak keen to boost the property market and “build build build”

12. New planning rules will open up more opportunities to make money in property

13. Opportunity is everywhere for everyone, especially in property! But you have ACT!

14. Even the 'Secret law of attraction' requires you to get off your ass and TAKE ACTION!

15. Homeowners will get vouchers of up to £5,000 for energy-saving improvements

16. The poorest will receive up to £10,000 in £2 billion energy saving grant scheme

17. Will your job be one of millions phased out by automation, innovation and AI?

18. You don’t need your own money to create a second income in property

19. Time to your economy or Uconomy started whatever the economy is doing!

20. You can create a second income during the lockdown…and come out stronger

21. Learn how to make money from property without deposits, mortgages or cash

Are you ready to adapt to the new economic model?

By Charles Kelly, Property Investor, Author of Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness and creator of Money Tips Podcast.

#property #house prices #free course #property news

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