Friday, April 17, 2015

The public was told there would be transparency regarding the Trans Atlantic and Trans Pacific Partnerships.

Secretary Clinton's voice is being requested regarding this partnership authority and the resultant agreements.

Senator Brown of Ohio has a lot on the line when it comes to trade deals. He isn't the only one, but, evidently he does value the leadership of Secretary Clinton.

April 16, 2015
WASHINGTON — Key congressional leaders (click here) agreed on Thursday on legislation to give President Obama special authority to finish negotiating one of the world’s largest trade accords, opening a rare battle that aligns the president with Republicans against a broad coalition of Democrats.

In what is sure to be one of the toughest fights of Mr. Obama’s last 19 months in office, the “fast track” bill allowing the White House to pursue its planned Pacific trade deal also heralds a divisive fight within the Democratic Party, one that could spill into the 2016 presidential campaign....

...Sherrod Brown of Ohio are demanding to know Hillary Rodham Clinton’s position on the bill to give the president so-called trade promotion authority, or T.P.A....

Secretary Clinton must bring her knowledge of international trade both from her State Department days and those with The Clinton Foundation. We know she knows what to do. It is imperative she brings her insight during those 60 days so her leadership will not be impacted by adverse outcomes from these trade agreements.

...The bill would make any final trade agreement open to public comment for 60 days before the president signs it, and up to four months before Congress votes. If the agreement, negotiated by the United States trade representative, fails to meet the objectives laid out by Congress — on labor, environmental and human rights standards — a 60-vote majority in the Senate could shut off “fast-track” trade rules and open the deal to amendment....

I would ask her to participate with knowledge the unions can submit to her through her presidential campaign headquarters. This is a huge issue for the American people. We have worked hard to recover from the global economic collapse and we can't be betrayed only to return to increased rates of poverty.

Her current statement is correct. Trade is necessary, but, it should never compromise human rights which includes environmental factors. People can't live if Earth is unlivable. Environmental factors are not just those experienced at work, but, emissions that cause danger of any kind from manufacturing has to be factor in trade from here into the future.

The past administration ended human rights conditions and environmental concerns, this sounds as though this is a return to American morality with trade issues. That doesn't mean we have to give away every bit of recovery we have accomplished. 

Trade is important, but, should never compromise the American worker. The USA is still recovering it's Middle Class. We are seeing interest in increased wages to end corporate welfare, but, those changes haven't come to every American working to improve their status. 

Secretary Clinton knows children don't thrive well in poverty. She can impact these trade agreements before President Obama signs them. We want fairness. We want good wages. We want our unions. We want pensions. We want to be healthy. The American worker and our history demands every generation to do better than the one before. We fell off that standard during the previous administration only to be completely abandoned to a global economic collapse. The American worker and small business was abandoned in 2008, we just can't go back to trusting Wall Street. We need assurances our economy will remain intact while our historical standard is returned to us.

If GM sells more cars abroad, that would be great news for Americans; but; if GM sells more cars abroad because they have moved manufacturing to China or India that will implode the American economy. If that occurs, then we won't just have to worry about Japanese imports, we'll have to worry about GM imports while we find a way to rebuild our manufacturing sector. 

The American people need reassures, Secretary Clinton.

He is young. His speech is welcome. He loves the USA, too.

I am glad he came to visit and an agreeable gift of Italy's wine.

17 Feb. 2015
By Josephine McKenna

Matteo Renzi (click here) outlined an ambitious plan for Italy on Monday as he was appointed the country's new prime minister, vowing to urgently pursue far-reaching financial and political reforms in his first few months in office.
Mr Renzi was summoned to the Quirinale, the presidential palace, following the resignation of Enrico Letta on Friday and will spend the next few days seeking to form a coalition and fill key cabinet positions after facing rejections from several candidates at the weekend.
“For the legislature that we are proposing we need a few days to confirm the government,” Mr Renzi, who at 39 would be the country's youngest-ever prime minister, said immediately after the president confirmed his position.
“But I assure you I will give this commitment all the energy I have.”
The former premier was ousted in an internal party vote orchestrated by Mr Renzi who called for a “new phase” to push through economic and electoral reforms....

"The Power Bitch"

Secretary Clinton has had to overcome those that don't appreciate strong and opinionated women. She would stand up for her husband in Arkansas, therefore viewed as a difficult woman and out of place. She did not make a career of defending her husband, she worked at the Rose Law Firm.

The same type of defaming of her reputation was true when she was at her husband's side during his run for President and while he was in office. Even today she is ridiculed to make her appear vulnerable politically to a bad female reputation.

The old world understanding of 'a woman' swims in cooking and child rearing. That is still a convenient methodology by the Republicans. That is silly. The majority of American women work and build their own balances in Social Security. 

There has always been this shadow over Hillary as to her manipulation of her husband in office to live out her dreams. I think we know better than that. That type of defaming is based in making less of a man of Bill Clinton. That has anchors in politics.

Hillary from the time she was a young lady, hit the ground running. She is more than qualified and has been for any political aspiration she seeks. It isn't her fault she is married to a former president. She has been a loyal and good wife to her husband and a wonderful mother to her daughter. That is evident. I am sure she is a very doting Grandmother. 

Her foul reputation in some venues in the USA is completely unearned and everyone needs to turn the page and return her reputation to her where it belongs.

What I do believe as legitimate questions to the Former Secretary is any vote she made and any capacity she held as Secretary of State and First Lady, including her dedication to art while in the White House. She is and has been a role model for women. I am sure that has weighed as a concern for her all these years as well.

The imagination about Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is interesting.

The Secretary of State no matter who it is serves at the pleasure of the President. 

TPP is not Secretary Clinton's issue, it is Presidents Bush and Obama that is setting the priorities of this mess.

I know that sounds like an excuse, but, Hillary Clinton was not President during any of this burgeoning disaster to the American worker. 

She was First Lady when NAFTA was being passed into law. The First Lady doesn't have a vote. Remember? She was concerned about health care and who has the best cookies in the country.

She did say this as a US Senator:  

Hillary Clinton has come out against a trade pact with South Korea, but as senator, she has voted in support of free trade pacts with Oman, Chile and Singapore, even though she criticized them for what she said was their weak enforcement of international labor standards. In fact, she’s voted for every trade agreement that has come before her except CAFTA, the Central American version of NAFTA, the pact the public has heard the most about. 

Source: The Contenders, by Laura Flanders, p. 17 , Nov 11, 2007 

Basically, what that tells me is Secretary Clinton evaluates trade relations on a case by case basis. It doesn't sound as though she appreciates trade agreements that encompass regions of the world. It is a silly idea. No one country is the mirror of another. It should be case by case basis. 

This past weekend, you expressed some disappointment that NAFTA, in your words, did not realize the benefits that it promised. How would you fix it?

A: Well, I had said that for many years, that NAFTA and the way it’s been implemented has hurt a lot of American workers. In fact, I did a study in New York looking at the impact of NAFTA on business people, workers and farmers who couldn’t get their products into Canada despite NAFTA. So, clearly we have to have a broad reform in how we approach trade. NAFTA’s a piece of it, but it’s not the only piece of it. I believe in smart trade. Pro-American trade. Trade that has labor and environmental standards, that’s not a race to the bottom but tries to lift up not only American workers but also workers around the world. It’s important that we enforce the agreements we have. That’s why I’ve called for a trade prosecutor, to make sure that we do enforce them. The Bush administration haven’t been enforcing the trade agreements at all. 

Source: 2007 AFL-CIO Democratic primary forum , Aug 7, 2007

This is a little dated to 2007-2008 regarding the claim Tulsa has a drug problem.

Oklahoma 

Addicted State Rank: 34th (click here)
Alcoholic State Rank: 20th
Stoner State Rank: 25th
Coked-Out State Rank: 40th
Numbed-Out State Rank: 14th
Smokiest State Rank: 3rd

This is an in depth article of which Tulsa World was a contributor:

"Addiction Costs Oklahoma and its residents an estimated $7.2 billion a year." (click here)  

I am still trying to understand why that is relevant to the death of Mr Harris. Somehow, Mr. Bates was justified in his role in the death of Mr. Harris because he donated heavily to local campaigns and the Sheriff's department. Is that it? I don't think so. A lot of cities have problems, but, they don't have reserve officers participating a sting operation where guns are an issue. Even if they did, why would that justify death? Someone has a greater conscience about drug addiction than someone else? I don't get it.

There are many health concerns among e-cigarette uses.

Those concerns are profound, including, lung scaring. These cigarettes are new and were poorly understood before it was released for sale in most states. Mary Jane is known better than e-cigarettes. 

April 16, 2015

Federal health officials (click here) lit a match today that ignited a firestorm on both sides of the vaping divide, reporting that current e-cigarette use among middle and high school students tripled from 2013 to 2014.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) called the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration "a wake-up call to all of us that more and more of our kids are becoming addicted to e-cigarettes.
"If e-cigarette companies are serious about helping people quit smoking, they must stop targeting our kids with their products and pull their advertisements from television," Boxer said.
The American Vaping Association -- an industry group -- in effect labeled the report a smokescreen and interpreted the numbers to indicate that "as youth experimentation with vaping has grown, teen smoking has declined at a rate faster than ever before."...

The verification of any of the current problems linked to e-cigarettes will take some time before their safety can be discerned. This is not about cigarettes and a mechanism that leads to regular cigarette smoking. This is about new problems that are becoming a concern to health officials. These concerns are not unwarranted, which includes disease because of the lack of sterility of this TECHNOLOGY.

The reason teens are a primary concern is because any problems that results may cause them lifetime disabilities. Until all the testing is completed by reputable agencies it is complete foolishness to try the technology and/or use it as a means of social status or recreational smoking.

Jeb Bush doesn't know what he is doing.

While Jeb Bush wants his base to bond with him by attacking President Obama's administration and the economy; President Obama is not running.

Secretary Clinton on the other hand has the absolutely correct focus. The small businesses in the USA has been abandoned by banks. They have had to rely on the Small Business Administration for their needs to expand and bring in more commerce and hiring. There may be inconsistent growth across the spectrum and local economies are rather unique. They can be unique as the community itself, so finding generalities in those needs to improve their growth will lend to federal policy. She is a smart lady.

I might add, these type of economy is a focus of The Clinton Foundation. It is an organization interested in international economic develop to end poverty that increases the potential to terrorists. Secretary Clinton knows what she is doing. I look forward to her policy statements as well as any other candidates that may announce as well.

Hating President Obama is not a policy statement. Jeb Bush has attempted to lie about the economy and it's improvements over the past years of the Obama Administration. At one point, Jeb Bush stated the recover is a "W" rather than a "V" recovery. That was a lie. A blatant 'hate Obama lie.' I am fairly sure that statement is on this blog. It was some time ago. I sincerely don't believe Jeb Bush knows the difference. That's why attacks are so convenient. 

The most popular defense of Republican economies is the best way to grow the economy is for government to get out of the way, including the banks. We all know what happened last time that was a political priority.
To Harry Reid,

I am sorry to hear about your blindness. I am concerned about your perception of depth. Would a Disability Dog help prevent such potential to harm?

We care, Harry because you have cared for so long.

The dogs help people of all ages and any type of disability. A dog may help perception of distance so walking is a secure faculty.  

The dogs maintain freedom, Harry.

There is a vortex that formed in the usa. The weather is bizarre, including tornadoes.

April 17, 2015
1130.20z
UNISYS Water Vapor North and East Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)

It formed in the past 12 hours. This is caused by Human Induced Global Warming.

And the political opposition states, "Everything can't be caused by global warming." Yes, it can. 

In all instances where 'human error' enters the landscape there are remedies decided.

In the case of medicine when a patient dies due to human error it is either called negligence or malpractice, never is it called an "oops." Medical professionals can be jailed for such problems. The entire medical professional has built in guards against such problems. It is not an excuse, it a warning.

Obviously, law enforcement practices haven't addressed any of their 'oops' in a meaningful way. "I shot him, I'm sorry." is not a final product, it is a huge problem for others calling themselves citizens.

I can think of a dozen different things that can be done to mitigate this ERROR in the practice of law enforcement. The man paid the police department plenty money, becomes a part of the department, is armed as if a police officer and now he has killed a man in a very inappropriate sting operation. "Oops" is not even in the picture. 

April 10, 2015
By Burt Mummolo

An accident (click here) is how the shooting has been described in general. But now, a more detailed term is being used to explain the shooting by a Tulsa Reserve Deputy; slip and capture.
"These are mistakes that are made when you think you are doing one thing but you actually are doing another, and the result often is directly opposite of what you intended," said consultant Jim Clark.And law enforcement isn't the only field to be devastated by a fatal mix-up.
"It's happened in the aviation industry," he said.
When flight 3407 began to stall in February of 2009, officials say the pilot should have lowered the nose and increased power, but instead pulled up, making matters worse and leading to disaster.
"It happens in the medical community," said Clark.
An example being when a new IV pump is programmed by a nurse familiar with an older model, inadvertently administering either too little or too much medication.
"Deputy Bates transitioned from his pepper ball gun to what he thought was his Taser," he said.
A split second mix-up with horrible aftermath, a slip on the grip of what's right and a capture of dire consequences.
"Slips and capture can occur in times of extreme stress and in dire emergencies," said Clark....

An attack on the reputation of a long standing news agency is not going to work. The fact they have reported on Tulsa for so long lends credibility and the journalist involved has verified sources of statements from valid authority. A news agency has it's reputation on the line, too. As a rule journalists check and double check facts before they are made public.

I am relieved this has made national news. 

It doesn't matter how the civil dynamics exist, there is a man dead.

This is just an outrageous policy by police departments. I have never heard in my many years a reserve police officer having the power to effect a police sting operations. Everything about this says it is wrong.

April 14, 2015
By Steve Helling

A reserve deputy in Tulsa, Oklahoma, (click here) has been charged with second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of a man who was killed during a sting operation.

Bob Bates, a 73-year-old insurance executive who moonlighted as a reserve deputy, is accused of fatally shooting Eric Harris, 44.

It all began on April 2, when the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office began a sting to buy illegal firearms from Harris. During the operation, Harris became suspicious and tried to flee. Officers caught him and tackled him to the ground.... 


An apology to a family may be more than appropriate, but, the loss of a family member carries pain beyond the apology.

"Slip and capture," how convenient. Mr. Bates is confident to his not guilty verdict.

A dead man is a dead man. "Slip and capture" or not, there is a crime committed and there needs to be a jury to determine justice. The fact Mr. Bates plays a determining factor in a police sting operation is simply outrageous. This is not going away. The "Pay to Play" is an entire element that lends itself to this outcome. That will end.

July 22, 2015

Two expert witnesses (click here) with Force Science backgrounds are believed to have been influential in a jury’s recent decision to reject a murder conviction of a former transit officer accused of deliberately shooting an unarmed suspect in the back during a handcuffing scuffle.
The witnesses, Dr. Bill Lewinski, executive director of the Force Science Institute, and retired LAPD captain Greg Meyer, a certified Force Science Analyst, testified in detail how a combination of inadequate training and psychological stress phenomena most likely led to a tragic accident in which the officer mistakenly drew his sidearm instead of his X26 Taser while trying to restrain the struggling suspect. The prosecution had claimed the incident was one of intentional homicide by an out-of-control cop.
“This case,” Lewinski told Force Science News, “is a classic illustration of powerful forces beyond an officer’s conscious awareness that can shape a threatening encounter. These forces may not be readily evident even to unbiased witnesses, but in a matter of seconds they can change the lives of those involved forever.”

The United Nations will change leadership on December 31, 2015.

There is a front runner to replace Ban Ki-moom.

April 17, 2015

...Bulgarian Irina Bokova, (click here) the current head of the UN's largest agency UNESCO, announced her candidacy for the post of secretary-general earlier this year....
...The UN started in 1945, there have been eight secretary-generals, none have been women and none have come from the eastern European section.
"The general view, globally, is that it's their turn."
Experts said Ms Bokova was an extremely strong performer who met the UN stipulation of fluency in French....

Nancy Pelosi on the Iraq War vote.

I haven't check the votes, but, my best guess is that any legislator from New York City and New York State would vote for the war. There were Bush officials and himself stating there was a threat. 

The responsibility for the impetus to war into Iraq really belongs to Bush. He took advantage of a traumatized country to push through his own agenda. Bush was leading into disaster and it was his responsibility to carry out police based in the best intelligence, not his own agenda. But, Bush never bothered to lead on the CIA's assessment of al Qaeda either. He was on a tangent no one knew about until it was launched.

April 16, 2015


...I was top Democrat on the intelligence committee at the time. (click here) As such I was required to receive all of the intelligence. I said at the time, the intelligence does not support the threat. I had better access than everybody. I couldn’t really say what I saw.
They said are you calling the president a liar. I said I’m stating a fact; the intelligence does not support the threat. My members had confidence this me. On the strength of that many of them voted against it. Some of them were never going to vote for the war any way. They did thank me afterward.

I was very, it was a few leaders. I wasn't a leader then but I was few of the persons that had all these years of experience on intelligence and national security. They trusted my judgment…

I can say of that a message was given to the American people by the White House that was not true, misrepresented the concern that was out there and created an atmosphere where unless you really studied this carefully, and I’m not saying everybody had access to that material, and they didn't. I was in a special place.

But I don't think a vote on a war 13 years ago, 14 years ago; the vote was '02, right now…

Again, Hillary Clinton has been a strong -- she comes to this, yes, as a woman. That happens to be that she's a woman. She’s so qualified. She has had great national security experience as a member of the armed services committee and secretary of state.

For these and so many reasons she'll be one of the strongest, best prepared people to enter the oval office in a long time. There are some others but she will be among the best prepared to serve as president.

A war vote is a vote that everybody makes on the basis of what think know, what they believe, who they trust. There’s large number of people who supported the war. The consequences have been terrible in terms of what it meant to our veterans and the rest of that, but no. the answer is no. I don't think it should disqualify her…

This is going to be a very tough sell.

The need is legitimate. The West is going to need reassurance the immigrants are not leaning to radical views. There has to be a process to discern the loyalties of the immigrants. 

April 17, 2015

...Not since the wave of people fleeing (click here) war in Vietnam a quarter-century ago have the world’s industrialized countries been under such intense pressure to share the burden of taking in refugees, experts say. Nor has the task of offering sanctuary been so politically fraught.

The United Nations high commissioner for refugees, António Guterres, has stepped up calls for industrialized countries, including the United States, to shelter 130,000 Syrian refugees over the next two years.

 The figure is a fraction of the nearly four million refugees who have poured into the countries bordering Syria — chiefly Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey — straining their resources and plunging scores of displaced people into poverty....

I would think the process used with Iraqis could apply to those coming from Syria.

Some of the immigrants from Iraq actually went back when the fighting was over. They probably are sorry they did today.

Immigration has become a four letter word in the USA because of extremist politics. 

March 5, 2009
By Aaron Terrazas 

The number of Iraqi immigrants (click here) in the United States tripled between 1980 and 2007, from 32,121 to 102,000. Most of this growth occurred during the 1990s. However, Iraqis still constitute less than 0.5 percent of all immigrants in the United States.
Although the United States has committed to accepting increasing numbers of Iraqi refugees, the number admitted from Iraq was still below 2000 levels until 2008.
The Iraqi born tend to have a similar demographic and socioeconomic profile to the overall foreign-born population, but they are much more concentrated in certain states and metropolitan areas. Over half of all Iraqi immigrants in 2007 lived in Michigan and California (for more information on immigrants by state, please see the 2006 ACS/Census Data tool on the MPI Data Hub)....

A populous view is the numbers. The numbers aren't good arguments. For women (click here) entering the USA as immigrants they soon and easily learn a vast shift in culture. They usually flourish and are proud of their educated children.
 
Women are immigrating to the USA to reunite families. They comprise over fifty percent of the immigrants in the USA.

The USA should lead and carry out immigration to the refugees beginning with those in camps the longest.
February 26, 2015 
By Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova 

...In 2013, approximately 41.3 million immigrants (click here) lived in the United States, an all-time high for a nation historically built on immigration. The United States remains a popular destination attracting about 20 percent of the world's international migrants, even as it represents less than 5 percent of the global population. Immigrants accounted for 13 percent of the total 316 million U.S. residents; adding the U.S.-born children (of all ages) of immigrants means that approximately 80 million people, or one-quarter of the overall U.S. population, is either of the first or second generation.

The charismatic movement spawned by Daesh is worldwide.

There are very real reasons for the export of jihadists from Great Britain. They have been without a homeland for at least the last decade.

October 23, 2014  
The 46-year-old hate preacher (click here) made the extraordinary statement when asked if jihadist fighters returning from Syria should have their passports confiscated and be charged under anti-terror laws.
Choudary blasted: "I don't accept British law. If you have a law, you need to apply it universally. These laws are only being applied against Muslims.
"This [anti-terror legislation] is purely being hyped-up to support the bombing campaign that is taking place in Iraq and Syria."
He also spoke of his support for Islamic State (ISIS) and claimed a ban on jihadists returning to Britain would 'alienate' the Muslim community.
He added: "If these guys have actually not committed any crime in England, then why are we stopping them returning?...

What Choudary has in mind is treason. He is part of Daesh even if only implied.

Russia media stated yesterday there are Russian citizens entering Syria as well. 

13 April, 2015
Scotland Yard (click here) was today urged to launch a fresh crackdown on extremist preachers and stop their “right to protest” being put before the interests of ordinary Londoners.
In a letter to Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, seen by the Standard, he is urged to beef up the force’s response to disruptive rallies led by extremists and “prevent these demonstrations happening in the first place”.
It comes after firebrand cleric Anjem Choudary led a rally outside the gates of Regent’s Park Mosque to promote his “Stay Muslim, Don’t Vote” campaign.
The Met today said it cannot “impose unreasonable restrictions” on Choudary and his followers because of their human rights.
The rally on April 3, which also featured Mizanur Rahman and Trevor Brooks — both convicted for glorifying terror attacks in 2006 and 2008 — led to clashes with far-Right groups the English Defence League and Britain First....

The world is safe once again.

This is going to be all in with Lucas until Christmas. R2-D2 lives!

Yes, that Dreamliner (click here) is painted like the R2-D2 character from Star Wars.

Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) unveiled plans to paint one of its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners in a Star Wars livery that features the likeness of R2-D2. The R2-D2 livery will begin flying on one of the carrier's Dreamliners this fall, though ANA has not yet determined the routes of schedule for its Star Wars plane.

Is Lucas Films a private company? It probably won't be by Christmas.