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by WorldTribune Staff, April 13, 2017

The centrist and nationalist wings within President Donald Trumps National Security Council (NSC) are battling for ultimate control of the most pressing foreign policy decisions, according to D.C. media outlets.

But is the fight for real or is it media factions outside the White House that is obsessed with power?

Chief strategist Steve Bannon, who was removed from the NSC shortly before the U.S. missile strikes on a Syrian airbase, continues to have the backing of much of the populist base that carried Trump to the White House, including the influential Mercer family, The Washington Post reported on April 12.

Meanwhile, Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner is driving the centrists and has taken aggressive action to micro-manage the NSC, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

Bannon told friends that everything is fine and that the excitement is mainly media-generated. The Post compared is continued tenure as hospice care.

Related: Trump: Before Steve Bannon was, I am, April 12, 2017

Bannon, who not long ago was referred to as the shadow president is struggling to keep his job with his portfolio reduced and his profile damaged, according to the Post, which cited interviews with 21 of Trumps aides, confidants and allies.

Some colleagues described Bannon as a stubborn recluse who had failed to build a reservoir of goodwill within the West Wing, the report said.

To his supporters, Bannon remains an essential conduit between the president and his nationalist, populist base.

The wealthy Mercer family, which has nurtured Bannons political rise and infused Trumps campaign and allied groups with millions of dollars, is closely monitoring Bannons falling fortunes, the Post report said. Rebekah Mercer, who directs the familys political activities, is unnerved and worried about losing her best link to a president her family takes credit for helping get elected but believes Bannon will be able to maintain his influence, people close to the family said.

Kushner, meanwhile, has overshadowed even recently installed National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, the Free Beacon reported, citing sources both inside and outside the White House.

Never before has a White House permitted such a figure to intervene in the NSC, which is traditionally given leeway to investigate foreign policy matters and bring advice to the president, the report said, noting Kushners influence over foreign policy portfolios such as Iraq, Israel, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and China.

Kushner is meddling in a lot of things, said an NSC official who spoke to theFree Beacon only on background. Such direct control of foreign policy from the West Wing has never happened before. It just creates a lot of drama. People just dont know how to deal with it. Were respectful of his position, but its confusing the policymaking process.

Officials working at the NSC, State Department, and Department of Defense are not happy that Jared is so powerful in foreign policy, said one White House official. They are expected to implement the presidents agenda, but have no input or ability to get ideas in front of Jared. Its a one-man show and thats creating a lot of frustration.

The installation of Dina Powell, aconfidant of Kushners wife Ivanka, to the NSC is said to have been orchestrated by Kushner in order to solidify his power over the foreign policy organization, sources told the Free Beacon.

A White House spokesperson told theFree Beaconthe NSC was running smoothly: The NSC is running beautifully under the leadership of Gen. McMasterwho has installed an exceptional team to execute on behalf of the president.

Fight for control of the Trump administrations NSC? Warring narratives rage in DC media, Fight for control of the Trumps NSC? Warring narratives rage in DC media, H.R. McMaster, Jared Kushner, Mercer family, nationalists vs centrists, Steve Bannon, WorldTribune.com

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Fight for control of the Trump's NSC? Warring narratives rage in DC media - World Tribune

It seems to be the season for videos on social media to cause a stir in the abortion debate in Ireland. A few days ago, LifeNews reported on a video that challenged arguments for repeal of the Eighth Amendment which has received almost 600,000 views to date on Facebook. (The Eighth Amendment is Irelands last remaining constitutional protection for unborn children).

Now, another video is starting to gather pace. Posted by the Hear Both Sides organisation, the video, entitled RTE Views Dressed Up As News was posted online just a few days ago but already it is striking a chord with the public. It documents effectively just how out of control media bias has become on the abortion issue.

Even though aspects of the video are presented in a slightly tongue-in-cheek way, the video has a very serious message. On its youtube channel, the Hear Both Sides group highlight the biased, distorted, one-sided reporting that RTE engages in, and unfortunately this will not come as any surprise to people who follow the debate in Ireland closely.

Just one of the examples in the video shows this clearly. In one month alone, RTE dedicated 81 minutes to presenting the case for removing the Eighth Amendment and just 4 minutes were given to the pro-life side during the same month.

As Irelands National Broadcaster, RTE is in a privileged position. It receives close to 200 million of taxpayers money every year. But just as with all privileges, it also has responsibilities including the requirement to produce fair and objective current affairs programmes. Its this area where RTE is falling down, time and time again, when it comes to abortion. Instead of providing both sides of the argument and facilitating a situation where the public is able to come to an informed conclusion on how they feel about the rights of unborn children and the place they should hold in our society, RTE constantly pushes one side of the narrative only and as a result, the public lose out.

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It isnt just social media groups like Hear Both Sides that have pulled RTE up on this. The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, which is tasked with ensuring that RTE meets its requirements as National Broadcaster, has upheld complaints against shows on RTE a remarkable 3 times where it was found to be failing in its obligations in this regard. Each one of these is a serious matter because each complaint upheld highlights a failure on the part of RTE to provide the kind of service that the taxpayer is funding.

One aspect that the Hear Both Sides video aptly represents is RTEs determination to stereotype the pro-life movement in Ireland. Instead of presenting it accurately as the diverse, motivated and growing movement which crosses all age groups, all faiths and none, RTE prefers to pretend that the only people interested in protecting unborn children are those who want an old-fashioned society. In reality, pro-life supporters know that their movement is genuinely modern, one that acknowledges the humanity of the unborn child in the womb, so clearly identified by advances in science.

Its time that RTE stopped its campaign of painting pro-lifers as people stuck in the dark ages. As tax-payers, supporters of the Eighth Amendment deserve to have their voices heard on the National Broadcaster and shouldnt have to feel that RTE is lining up with pro-choice campaigners to bring about the removal of the last remaining constitutional protection for unborn children.

LifeNews readers are encouraged to watch the video and share it with a friend to help to highlight the problem of media bias in Ireland. Its available here:

https://www.facebook.com/hearbothsidesireland/videos/1858586371023119/

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Video Shows Just How Out of Control Irish Media Bias is on Abortion - LifeNews.com

The historic Mission Control room at the Johnson Space Center is one of two that were in operation when Apollo 11 put the first man on the moon. The goal is to make the room look exactly as it did when Neil Armstrong stepped on the lunar surface in 1969.

The $3.5 million donation will be funded by the hotel occupancy tax. Hotels expect the control room restoration will attract more overnight stays from visitors to the area. William Harris is president and CEO of the non-profit Space Center Houston.

Currently its one of our most popular stops on the behind-the-scenes tram tour of Johnson Space Center, and you can go into the visitation area and we do an orientation so people can see the actual room through the glass, exactly.

The control room on the floor below continues to be used for the International Space Station. Space Center Houston is raising $5 million for the renovation to the second floor control center, which was declared a National Historic Landmark and taken out of operation in 1995.

Our goal is to restore it to the Apollo era. So, restore the consoles, illuminate them, add other artifacts, so it looks like a working space as it did, you know, forty, fifty years ago.

Curators can look at old pictures and film to see how the control room once looked, and retired control center employees are helping to convey what the environment was like. The Space Center hopes to complete restoration by 2019, in time for the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing.

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Webster Donation Puts JSC Mission Control Restoration Into Hyperdrive - Houston Public Media

History of Play Station Sony first announced development of the PlayStation Portable at a press conference before E3 2003. Although mock-ups of the system were not present at the press conference or E3,[23] Sony did release extensive technical details regarding the new system. On October 17, 2004, Sony announced that the PSP would launch in Japan on December 12, 2004 at a price of US$181 for the base model and US$226 for the Value System. The console's launch was a success with over 200,000 units sold the first day.

PSP Hardware Technology The system includes two shoulder buttons and a USB 2.0 mini-B port on the top of the console and a WLAN switch and power cable input on the bottom. The back of the PSP features a read-only UMD drive for movies and games, and a reader compatible with Sony's Memory Stick Duo flash cards is located on the left of the system. Other features include an IrDA compatible infrared port built in stereo speakers and headphone port, and IEEE 802.11b Wi-Fi for access to the Internet, ad-hoc multiplayer gaming, and data transfer.

The PSP includes an 1800 mAh battery that will provide about 46 hours of gameplay, 45 hours of video playback, or 811 hours of audio playback. Official accessories for the console include the AC adapter, car adapter, headset, headphones with remote control, extended-life 2200 mAh battery, battery charger, carrying case, accessories pouch and cleaning cloth, and system pouch and wrist strap.

PSP System Software Sony has included the ability for the operating system, referred to as the System Software, to be updated. The updates can be downloaded directly from the Internet using the Network Update feature. System software updates have added various features including a web browser, Adobe Flash support, additional codecs for images, audio, and video, PlayStation 3 connectivity, as well as patches against several security exploits, vulnerabilities, and execution of homebrew programs.

PSP Web browser The PSP Internet Browser is an embedded microbrowser. It is a version of the NetFront browser made by Access Co. Ltd. and was released for free with the 2.00 system software update. The browser supports most common web technologies, such as HTTP cookies, forms, CSS, as well as basic JavaScript capabilities.

PSP Remote Play Remote Play allows the PSP to access many features of a PlayStation 3 console from a remote location using the PS3's WLAN capabilities, a home network, or the Internet. Features that can be used with Remote Play include viewing photos and slideshows, listening to music, watching videos stored on the PS3's HDD, and several other features. Additionally, Remote Play allows the PS3 to be turned on and off remotely and allows the PSP to control audio playback from the PS3 to a home theater system without having to use a television.

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PS3 Media Server

Egypt's president has picked three former leaders at state news organizations during the era of deposed autocrat Hosni Mubarak to lead new media watchdog agencies, part of measures to tighten his control over the country following a pair of horrific Islamic State church bombings last weekend.

The move comes just days after President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi publicly criticized media coverage of the deadly suicide bombings in the cities of Tanta and Alexandria north of Cairo, which killed at least 45 and injured scores. In televised comments just hours after the attacks, he said the media must keep the country's national interests in mind.

It raises concerns that the government plans to tighten its already firm grip on the media, in a country that already locks up journalists and has fallen to the bottom of press freedom indexes since el-Sissi overthrew the country's first democratically-elected president, a divisive Islamist.

Two of the men Makram Mohamed Ahmed, the former journalists' union head and Karam Gabr, former editor-in-chief of a state-owned newspaper were driven from their positions amid the 2011 uprising that ended Mubarak's 29-year reign. The third is Hussein Zein, who held a senior post at the Radio and Television Union in the Mubarak era.

El-Sissi made the picks for the chairmen of the Supreme Council for Media Regulation, the National Press Authority, and the National Media Authority based on a law that was passed in December, but which received new impetus after last Sunday's killings.

"The boards in their current form are dominated by executive authority representatives, to guarantee its control over state-owned and private media," said journalist Karem Mahmoud, who helped draft an early version the law.

But Mahmoud said that original draft it had since been amended by ministers and members of a heavily pro-el-Sissi parliament to further pare back press freedoms. The state-run al-Ahram newspaper said all but four of the 596-member unicameral legislature voted in favor.

"This isn't the law the committee proposed," Mahmoud told The Associated Press, noting that the final version had only 89 articles as opposed to an original 230 many of which had sought to lay out freedom of speech in line with Egypt's constitution.

Mahmoud believes the move, along with a similar draft bill that would allow el-Sissi to pick the nation's highest judges, would give the executive branch the authority "to silence any dissenting voice."

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Egypt names Mubarak-era figures to head media watchdogs - ABC News