Thursday, February 25, 2016

When was the last time Virginia had deaths from tornadoes? And when this time of year?

Virginia statistics for 57 years. (click here)

There have never been any deaths in February before. Some injuries, but, no deaths. This is a new mile marker for Virginia.

February 24, 2016
By Luc Bruggeman and Avianne Tan

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe (click here) declared a state of emergency this evening in response to the state's severe weather. Three people in the town of Waverly and one person in Appomattox County died as a result of the weather today, according to Virginia State Police.
In Waverly, "a 50-year-old male, 26-year-old male and 2-year-old male were killed when their mobile home was destroyed in the storm," Virginia State Police said in a press release. "All three were found approximately 300 yards from the mobile home. The bodies were transported to the Office of the Medical Examiner in Norfolk for positive identification."
Virginia State Police added that there are at least 4 other structures damaged within the town limits as a result of the storm. There are no reports of any missing persons....

Cruz just said in different words he would write an executive order on the first day to send the Undocumented to deportation. He is carrying Donald Trump's message now.
Oh, yeah, the Apple thing. It looks like Republicans and President Obama's FBI are on the same side on this thing, huh?

The resistance is about the shield/branding. Is Apple saying there is only ONE encryption that works this way? Really?
Those podiums at the Republican debate are terrible. Were they from an old game show? The candidates look like they are standing in trash cans.

By all means, but, Ted Cruz in the nomination. Please. We'll have it over in a week when it is necessary to prove he can be a candidate for President.

Palestinian children should have the same beautiful opportunity.

February 25, 2016
By Paul Goldman and F. Brinley Bruton

Tel Aviv, Israel — A seven-year-old boy (click here) discovered an ancient statuette of a naked woman during a day trip to an archaeological site in Israel, antiquities officials said Thursday.

Ori Greenhut saw a dirt-covered stone with with the image of a person while climbing a mound at Tel Rehov earlier this week, according to a statement from Israel's Antiquities Authority....


...The 3,400-year-old figurine was made by pressing soft clay into a mold and is typical of the Canaanite culture of the 15th to 13th centuries B.C., according to Amihai Mazar, professor emeritus at Hebrew University and expedition director of the archaeological excavations at Tel Rehov.
"Some researchers think the figure depicted here is that of a real flesh and blood woman, and others view her as the fertility goddess Astarte, known from Canaanite sources and from the Bible," he said according to the Antiquities Authority statement. "Evidently the figurine belonged to one of the residents of the city of Rehov, which was then ruled by the central government of the Egyptian pharaohs."...

When unions are in their proper place in the USA labor force the country's economy screams success.

Kennedy started economic growth the beginning of 1962 that didn't end for a decade. It was the longest period of growth by the USA economy.

The Affordable Care Act is not causing changes in employment, if it exists then Wall Street is. No one told Wall Street to cheat the people they have as employees, they made those decisions completely on their own. That should tell Americans something.

Government is not suppose to cater to Wall Street, it is suppose to serve the people and not collapse because Wall Street has hideous ideas about unfair profits through unfair treatment of labor.

Americans need unions and contracts. Does it show? Does it show the unions have been decimated along with the middle class?
Kennedy started economic growth the beginning of 1962 that didn't end for a decade. It was the single longest period of growth in the USA. It was real. It wa

The height of the number of unions occurred in 1960 and has diminished ever since. But, these are graphs put out by the US Department of Labor regarding those years.



The pay scale was very different. The study shows income between $5000 and $6000. But, what is interesting about these graphs is the increase of income and disposable income to the middle class. ALSO at the height of the unions, women started to enter the work force.

In the 1960s the people felt so good about life they were having babies. (click here)

When JFK came into office, the USA was facing a recession. This is what he did to mend the USA economy and the 1960s turned into the single greatest growth rate in history.

The recession of 1960-1961 (click here) was mainly due to the high inflation, high unemployment rates, and a bad gross national product rating. This recession lasted for 10 months and resulted in the second longest economic expansion in U.S. history. During Kennedys 1960 presidential campaign he sought to accelerate economic growth by increasing government spending and cuttingt taxes, and increased funds for education. The GDP of the United States during this period fell 1.6%, and the unemployment rate hit its peak at 7.1%. Kennedy knew that the economy was in big trouble so he sent congress an economic growth and recovery package consisting of twelve measures. They were an increase in the minimum wage from .00 to .25 per hour, an extension of the minimum wage to a greater pool of workers, an increase in unemployment compensation with an increased aid to children of unemployed workers, an increase in social security benefits to a larger pool of people, emergency relief for feed grain farmers, area redevelopment, vocational training for displaced workers, and federal funding for home building and slum eradication. JFK ended the recession by stimulating the economy ten days after taking office.

Unions are good for the economy. They are good for everyone.

So, Wall Street was struggling in the 1960s? Right? Not at all. It was a bull market into the 1970s.




Bull and Bear Markets in the Twentieth Century (click here)


"I am not a strict constructionist , and no one ought to be."

Justice Scalia from the University of Chicago.

October 7, 2005

Here is a passage from an excellent essay: (click here) "I am not a strict constructionist, and no one ought to be . . . . A text should not be construed strictly, and it should not be construed leniently; it should be construed reasonably, to contain all that it fairly means."
This passage is from Justice Scalia's essay in the book, A Matter of Interpretation. In his essay, Justice Scalia defends "textualism." He thinks that a strict constructionist is "better . . ., I suppose, than a nontextualist." But he describes strict constructionism as "a degraded form of textualism that brings the whole philosophy into disrepute."
Justice Scalia's discussion is relevant because the President seeks judges who believe in "strict construction"; because nominee Harriet Miers has said that the Constitution should be strictly construed; and because several prominent Republicans want some assurance that Ms. Miers believes in "strict construction." But as with "not legislating from the bench," so too here: It is not at all clear what "strict constructionists" do or believe....

The Republicans inside the beltway, Rubio and Cruz, are caught in the language of rhetoric.

There is no threat to religious liberty. Was Pope Francis not here? He was not only here he was here several days with a daunting agenda.



I cannot make a statement about Hillary Clinton's plans for prison and justice reform; but, according to what Bernie Sanders has said.

It reminded me of a TRUTH from long ago. California didn't call their incarceration facilities prisons or jails, they were known as campuses. The majority community knew the minority community did not have the education they needed and crime was a destination. So, IN THE DAY, reformation of a prisoner was about educating them and providing a trade as well. Leaving prison was hopeful and not recidivism or a return to drugs and violence.

It didn't matter the gender, the inmates were on campuses and not in prisons. Don't start about what his name ??????????? oh, Charles Manson. The deaths that take place in the USA today as compared to the 60s and 70s is ridiculous. It might be because the majority of Americans in the 60s and 70s had a reason to be on the same side.

J. S. was an educator (click here) for many years and now actively supports children’s and young adult literature and literacy. Cooking is a passion of hers.

In the late 1960s to early 1970s I was a frequent visitor to Chino Prison – the California Institution for Men. The husband of a good friend of mine was the recreation director there, and the first time I went there it was to see the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Yep!…you read it right – the LA Phil – directed by a very young Zubin Mehta. Joe (my friend’s husband) had been a jazz musician in his earlier years, and he had a lot of connections in the music industry. So in his position as recreation director for the prison, he was able to bring incredible entertainment to “his guys,” and when someone notable was scheduled to perform, Joe and his wife would invite me to join them for the show. Over a couple of years I had the great pleasure of seeing the Count Basie Band; B.B. King; Blood, Sweat & Tears; and several lesser-known local musical groups. And I got to meet the players also – what a deal! I still have an autographed black and white photo of B.B. King from when I met him after his appearance at Chino.

Senator Byrd was the most respected statesman in the Senate. Does anyone think Bush sought his wisdom?

While Senator Byrd was stating the case for voting against the Iraq War in the Senate, his counterpart, an Independent, Representative Bernie Sanders was making his statement as well. How do two senior and seasoned statesmen state the same thing when they never spoke about it together?

Season veterans of the USA federal government. Not a yahoo from Texas.


Yelling at Bernie Sanders is shameful. Trying to paint him as a person without insight is simply wrong.

Maybe I should post the speech going on in the US Senate at the same time this speech on the House floor was made.

That is a vortex that moved across the USA occupying the entire western hemisphere over the Atlantic Ocean.

February 25, 2016
1630.18z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES East satellite (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)

I used to call vortexes like this a 'vortex maximum.' But, those were not as large as this one. It reaches down to the equator adn there is ever indication it reaches into the southern hemisphere.

February 25, 2016
By AP

There has been more wacky winter weather (click here) with a rare February thunderstorm warning in Maine. Officials say strong gusts knocked out power for more than 16,000 homes and businesses.
Flashes of lightning and powerful thunderclaps swept across the state Thursday morning.
The thunderstorm warnings were the first issued in February by the National Weather Service in Gray in 19 years and the first issued by the Caribou office since it was created in 17 years ago.
The state's major electric utilities, Central Maine Power and Emera Maine, each reported that more than 8,000 customers were in the dark late Thursday morning.
Warm temperatures followed the severe weather. The temperature climbed to 53 degrees Thursday in Portland, breaking the old record of 71 set in 1985.... 

This was the vortex a yesterday evening. The vortex reached across thousands of miles into Guatemala. When I looked at Guatemala the nearest city to the turbulence was Puerto Barrios and there was severe weather while the rest of Guatemala was mostly unremarkable.

24 February 2016
2130.19z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES East satellite
Rep. David Trott (click here) asked Secretary Kerry if he believes leaving Guantanamo makes America safer?

Secretary Kerry said yes, unequivocally.

Rep. David Trott then asks in what way can it be stated it makes it more dangerous for Americans.

Secretary Kerry asks Rep. Trott if he witnessed the beheading of people dressed in orange jump suits by Daesh. Secretary states, it is not by chance the beheadings were carried out with people in orange jump suits.

Recruitment anyone? 

Rep. Ron DeSantis supports occupation of the West Bank.

Mr. DeSantis believes there is labeling of products from Israeli communities that are illegitimate communities in the West Bank. He is recognizing that. Evidently, people of conscience look at labels when purchasing goods from Israel and if the "West Bank" is the place of origin, there is an unofficial boycott against them. Mr. DeSantis wants the labels of origin removed from goods when the goods come from the West Bank.
So, now we know, the movement to ban labeling of country of origin is an assault on the American's conscience. And to think all this time I thought it was an assault on American's safe food supply. Isn't that interesting. While we nourish our bodies with unknown origins of food, we are also removing the conscience of the American people when they empower themselves to bring pressure to protect lives in the West Bank.

Mr. DeSantis is not worthy of re-election. He is treating the American people as an enemy to Israel and is promoting violence against the Palestinian people of the West Bank.
February 12, 2016 
Washington, DC – Rep. Ron DeSantis (FL-06) (click here) has joined Rep. Doug Lamborn (CO-05) to introduce the Non-Discrimination of Israel in Labeling Act. This legislation is in response to the January 23rd U.S. Customs and Border Protection policy reissuance regarding country of origin marking requirements for goods manufactured in the West Bank and Gaza.
“Congress must ensure that Israeli products do not face undue discrimination in our marketplaces and that waging economic warfare against Israel is unacceptable,” DeSantis said. “The Non-Discrimination of Israel in Labeling Act will help to ensure Israeli manufacturers may label their products appropriately and will stymie efforts of those who seek to target Israel through the BDS movement."
“I am pleased to stand with Israel today by introducing the Non-Discrimination of Israel in Labeling Act.  This bill secures Israel’s right to label its products, including in the settlements, which protects both Palestinian and Israeli interests and jobs,” Lamborn said. “I am honored to work with Congressman DeSantis in opposing this effort to delegitimize the nation of Israel.” 
The Non-Discrimination of Israel in Labeling Act will reaffirm the original intent of labeling requirements and defend the right of Israeli producers to label products manufactured in the West Bank as “Israel,” “Made in Israel,” or “Product of Israel.”
Original cosponsors include Reps. Martha McSally (AZ-02), Trent Franks (AZ-08), Michael Fitzpatrick (PA-08), David Rouzer (NC-07), Ryan Costello (PA-06), Lee Zeldin (NY-01), Diane Black (TN-06), Dennis Ross (FL-15), Mark Walker (NC-06), and Paul Cook (CA-08).

Secretary Kerry is correct about Iran.

P5+1 did the very best job they could do to end the nuclear threat from Iran. As far as Iran's other interests; there are still some sanctions in place by the USA placed by President Obama because of violations of international law by Iran and it has absolutely nothing to do with nuclear non-proliferation.

Iran is going to do what Iran is going to do and nothing, including sanctions, is going to stop Iran. Iran supports Shi'ite groups throughout the crescent. That has always been the case and currently it is still a problem. 

The Republican Congress can't seem to get their minds around the fact Iran's nuclear threat is contained. That is nothing short of a miracle.

The sanctions levied against Iran that are moving off Iran's economy were in relation to it's illegal nuclear proliferation program. I MIGHT POINT OUT, that proliferation occurred under the Bush presidency.

Bush's Axis of Evil speech set off all kinds of proliferation in North Korea and Iran. There was no way Bush would talk to Iran, so Iran did what it had to do and worked on it's centrifuges and test fired rockets. THAT is what war and ill spirited foreign policy does. It places the world in a very dangerous place. The Middle East today can thank President Obama and the other members of the P5+1 for ending threats to countries such as Lebanon and ISRAEL from Iran's nuclear capacity.

The political propaganda by the Republicans who are pouting about the fact Iran is not the 52nd state after Iraq and it is not based in fact or POLICY.

October 5, 2015
By W. Gardner Shelby
...By email, McCaul (click here) spokesman Walter Zaykowski answered our request for elaboration by saying the casualty count originated with the Pentagon. He said McCaul’s mention of Iran plotting an attack in Washington, D.C., reflected the May 2013 conviction of an Iranian-American resident of San Antonio for plotting to kill Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States....

McCaul is stating half-truths. Republicans always state half truths. The incident with Saudi Arabia is well known and occurred May 30, 2013. It was NOT an attack on Washington, DC. It was a plot to assassinate a Saudi Ambassador on USA soil. It was prevented and there were no deaths.

May 30, 2013
An Iranian American used-car salesman from Texas (click here) at the center of a bizarre plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Manhattan to 25 years in prison.
Mannsor Arbabsiar, 58, had pleaded guilty in October to a charge of murder-for-hire and two counts of conspiracy for his role in attempting to orchestrate the 2011 bombing assassination of Adel al-Jubeir while the ambassador dined at Cafe Milano, an upscale Georgetown restaurant.

Prosecutors said Arbabsiar was recruited by a cousin who was a senior official in the Quds Force, which in 2007 the Treasury Department designated a terrorist supporter, according to court papers. The group is part of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is closely aligned with Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei....

A Quds Force member and a cousin recruited violence toward Saudi Arabia by his relative in the USA. That is a lone wolf attack. It isn't a clandestine plot officiated by Iran.

The way McCaul speaks is the equivalent of holding Pakistan and Saudi Arabia responsible for San Bernardino. It is ridiculous.

This propaganda spewed across the US House hearing chamber and otherwise is EXACTLY what the electorate should realize as they place their ballots in 2016. We cannot plug into false words that will ultimately put the USA back into the venue of illegal and immoral wars.

The Republicans, on a regular basis, produce propaganda out of half truths in order to win an election and then at first opportunity instill a demand for war against countries that are simply less able to protect themselves. That is how Iraq occurred. The 'idea' of WMD was introduced to the people of the USA, it further terrorized them and the idea of invading Iraq would satiate that fear.

I believe that very same fear exists today in the USA electorate. It is a place where war is not far from dialogue.

Lone wolf attacks have been viewed as a wider war that needs to involve the middle east and a forever war. That is not the way to deal with faux fear. Feeling as though USA soldiers in the middle east are protecting the USA when the fact is it is making things worse is convenient for politics, but, not for the families of the fallen or those suffering from PTSD or horrible disabilities. "Feeling secure" because of weapons and soldier deployment is a very bad habit and completely baseless in it's need or its goal.

Some of this war mongering occurs in the Senate, but, the primary offender of fear based voting is the US House. At every turn.

Michael McCaul is a propagandist. An attempted lone wolf attack in the USA has been distorted to create fear among the electorate. This alone proves he is a propagandist and does not deserve to be re-elected if he is using hate and fear as the basis of the electorate's choice. He uses his position in Congress for political purposes, wasting his time paid for by the American people and is in violation of ethics rules. 

Perhaps what needs to be put into effect is a swearing in of the Congressional Committees BEFORE the witness panel is sworn in for testimony. Such a procedure would be reassuring to the penalty for actions such as Mr. McCaul's today. It would also bring reassurance to the witnesses before the committee to know they will not be made to look as fools because they are 'cornered into denying lies by the Congressman." AH - he caught 'em.

I am dead serious. Find a way to swear in the Committee Members before they launch into a questioning of panels for testimony. I tell you what, since it is easy to prove a House Committee Chair is using his authority for propaganda, the people subpoenaed for testimony don't have a basis to comply with the subpoena because they will be smeared for political propaganda. 

The American people are not paying taxes so their elections are corrupted by propaganda. If Congress can't take their positions seriously in swearing in a committee before they swear in the panel, there is no basis for the inquiry in the first place.

Bush had it right. Why swear in a panel when all the Congress is looking for are political photo ops?

Donald Trump is being challenged by Mitt Romney?

That is a joke.

Republican presidential (click here) hopeful Mitt Romney, who made his fortune as co-founder of a profitable hedge fund company, has personal financial assets worth as much as $260 million, according to disclosure documents. Read and search those documents here.

How many people did Romney put to work? How much housing did he ever build. Oh, wait, I nearly forgot Romney's expertise is in garage sales.

Donald Trump was never a hedge fund manager or a venture capitalist. Instead he built things. Building things is the furthest thing from Romney's ambitions. If anything, 2008 global economic collapse effected Trump's interests and I am sure it has been interesting growing it back again. 

People housing was the last or should I say is the last real estate to recover. Business offices began to increase in value first after 2008. I am sure Mr. Trump has seen his fair share of foreclosures when it came to tenants. I think he'll probably have a very interesting perspective if he ever wants to comment on it.

But, Romney called Trump out on his income taxes? That is such a joke, Romney's business interests caused the 2008 global economic collapse. How is that offshoring going Mitt?

And right behind Mitt is loser number 2. The man who ignored and insulted President Obama to write his own national budget at a later date.

February 24, 2016
By Jennifer Steinhauser
Washington — Speaker Paul D. Ryan, (click here) chairman of the Republican National Convention, recent vice-presidential candidate and the highest elected Republican in the country, has one goal for this year: to form a conservative policy agenda for the Republican presidential nominee to embrace.
If that nominee is Donald J. Trump, that may be a waste of time.
Panicked Republicans question whether Mr. Trump will be able to unite a Republican-controlled Congress that would normally be expected to promote and promulgate his agenda, an internal crisis nearly unheard-of in a generation of American politics. On nearly every significant issue, Mr. Trump stands in opposition to Republican orthodoxy and his party’s policy prescriptions — the very ideas that Mr. Ryan has done more than anyone else to form, refine or promote over the last decade....

I can't wait for the first veto to be handed down and a signing statement that says, "Ryan, you're fired."

OMG, Russia has influence.

Bob Corker is an extremist.

Syria has been cast into anarchy by a terrorist organization that grew out of Iraq's illegal invasion and the USA is suppose to have a real solution for Syria, huh?


The Syria Opposition doesn't exist in a real way. The soldier training fell apart because of a vetting process. Well, that is suppose to be different in a Syrian opposition force. There is no virgin to be had.


Iran and Russia have been allies for a very long time and Russia was important to bring about a nuclear agreement with Iran.


Sexual in servitude. Are they married? I hear that is a problem. There is not going to be an invasion to end slavery.


There are no viable alternative plans. The ceasefire will be established and the opposition group will have to abide by it.



25 February 2016
Moscow is not discussing (click here) any alternative plans for a political settlement in Syria, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has said. The Russian-American peace initiative on Syria is going to be formalized through a UN Security Council resolution.
“We’re perplexed by our Western partners, the US included, mentioning the existence of some kind of ‘Plan B,’ Nothing is known on that one, we are considering no alternative plans,” Bognanov told the ‘Middle East: From violence to security’ conference in Moscow.
On February 22, Russian and American presidents simultaneously announced that an agreement on peaceful plan for Syria had been reached, coming into force on February 27, at midnight Damascus time.
Terrorist organizations such as Islamic State and Al-Nusra Front are not included in the ceasefire and will continue to be attacked until their complete annihilation, the Russian president said in a statement dedicated to the Syrian truce....

Perhaps Daesh needs to file a lawsuit and come forward in a court of law to defend it. Send in al Bagdadi. It should be interesting.


February 25, 2016

By Jessica Guynn
San Francisco — A video purportedly (click here) made by supporters of the Islamic State makes direct threats against Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey for combating terrorism on their Internet platforms.
The 25-minute propaganda video was released by a group calling itself "the sons of the Caliphatearmy." In it, photographs of both technology leaders are targeted by bullets. The video was spotted byVocativ deep web analysts on the social media service Telegram, which is used by ISIS.
The extremist group says it's responding to growing efforts by Facebook and Twitter to suspend accounts and remove posts that the social media services say incite violence and promote terrorism....
There has a real reason for Saudi Arabia to have it's own coalition.


25 February 2016
By Ewen MacAskill

Saudi Arabia has mounted (click here) an intense lobbying campaign to try to prevent members of the European parliament voting for an arms embargo because of the Saudi military action in Yemen that has resulted in heavy civilian casualties.
As part of a concerted campaign, Saudi representatives have been meeting MEPs to try to persuade them not to back an amendment on Thursday that calls for a EU-wide embargo following “the serious allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law by Saudi Arabia in Yemen”.
The Saudi ambassador to Brussels, Abdulrahman al-Ahmed, sent a letter to parliamentarians on Sunday in which in he pleaded with them not to vote for the amendment and defended his country’s military intervention.

In the four-page letter, a copy of which has been obtained by the Guardian, he blamed the intervention mainly on Iran and insisted much of Saudi’s action had involved humanitarian aid....

Here is something that would interest Corker. War as an employer.


18 February 2016
By Ghaith Abdul-Ahad 
A few nights before he was blown up by a car bomb, (click here) the governor of Aden was reclining on a purple velvet cushion, elaborating on his dreams for the port city, when a white smartphone started buzzing. He gave it a quick glance, winked and whispered: “It is the president.”
“Yes sir, I tried to call you earlier, I have a problem and I need your help,” he said, explaining that the Yemeni national airline had sold tickets for a flight from Dubai without obtaining landing permissions from the Saudi-led coalition. Since Yemeni militia backed by Saudi airstrikes retook the port city from Houthi rebels in July last year, Aden was officially back in government control but largely dependent on other countries for its security.
Aden – pulverised by air strikes and tank shells – represents the Saudi-backed government’s greatest success in Yemen’s civil war, yet with a victorious coalition of separatist militia, jihadis, Salafists and loyalist army units unravelling, and few sources of employment for the civilian population, the city is fragile. The Yemeni state shows no sign of re-establishing itself despite thereturn of its president from exile.
Aden’s governor, General Jaafar Saad, sat upright, his grin fading into concern as the president spoke. “Yes sir, I understand, but if the passengers show up at the airport and there is no flight they will topple Aden over my head.”...

All Cocker has to do is ask the CIA to develop and distribute cell phones and a few games to learn how to liberate a country from a dictator. Heck as a US Senator he could start his own personal war with this methodology. What fun, huh?


April 9, 2013

By Shane Harris

In 2006, as the war in Iraq was reaching a fever pitch, (click here) a Pentagon employee working on specials operations teamed up with a Czech technology entrepreneur who had dabbled in the porn business and devised what they considered  they considered an ingenious plan. Knowing that video games played on mobile phones were popular throughout the Middle East, the team wanted to build games that games that contained positive messages about the United States. But the games weren't just about propaganda. Every download would give the United States a window into the digital comings and goings of whomever was playing it it, a cyber foothold that could allow American spies to potentially track and collect information on thousands of people...


Are Muslims a primary goal for the Pew idea of an economy? I hope so. I don't really see the necessity in understanding numbers of particular religious groups unless there is a better economy that the West can bring them. I also believe mobile phones are the worst thing that happened to the middle east.


Numbers of any group does no one any good. There has to be social anthropologists sent into a country with it's permission to come to understand the populations of people different from the USA. A research institute that is a disinterested partner would have to receive the BIG BUCKS to carry out real searching for a common denominator for an economic uptick. Such anthropologists would also be able to gather information regarding slavery and what if anything the country is doing about it or is the government completely disinterested.


There are ways of conducting a real understanding to bring about improvements of QUALITY OF LIFE. Slavery is a matter of improving quality of life and war does not achieve that end. As a matter of fact, USA researchers need to work side by side with Muslim anthropologists to bring about the best outcome. Saudi Arabia has magnificent universities with very qualified anthropologists that could speed information gathering along.  


October 2009

Pew
...While Muslims (click here) are found on all five inhabited continents, more than 60% of the global Muslim population is in Asia and about 20% is in the Middle East and North Africa. However, the Middle East-North Africa region has the highest percentage of Muslim-majority countries. Indeed, more than half of the 20 countries and territories in that region have populations that are approximately 95% Muslim or greater. 
More than 300 million Muslims, or one-fifth of the world’s Muslim population, live in countries where Islam is not the majority religion. These minority Muslim populations are often quite large. India, for example, has the third-largest population of Muslims worldwide. China has more Muslims than Syria, while Russia is home to more Muslims than Jordan and Libya combined. 
Of the total Muslim population, 10-13% are Shia Muslims and 87-90% are Sunni Muslims. Most Shias (between 68% and 80%) live in just four countries: Iran, Pakistan, India and Iraq. 
These are some of the key findings of Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Muslim Population, a new study by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. The report offers the most up-to-date and fully sourced estimates of the size and distribution of the worldwide Muslim population, including sectarian identity. Previously published estimates of the size of the global Muslim population have ranged widely, from 1 billion to 1.8 billion.2 But these commonly quoted estimates often have appeared without citations to specific sources or explanations of how the figures were generated. 
The Pew Forum report is based on the best available data for 232 countries and territories. Pew Forum researchers, in consultation with nearly 50 demographers and social scientists at universities and research centers around the world, acquired and analyzed about 1,500 sources, including census reports, demographic studies and general population surveys, to arrive at these figures – the largest project of its kind to date. (See Methodology for more detail.)...

Here is a real reason for a US Senate bill regarding slavery.


1 February 2016

A United Nations panel of human rights activists (click here) has urged the United States’ government to pay reparations to the descendants of Africans who were brought to the US as slaves. The committee blamed slavery for the plight of African-Americans today.

The UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent’s preliminary report follows a year of aggravated racial tensions in the United States that saw the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, whose members rally against the deaths of unarmed black men like Eric Garner and Michael Brown.
Mireille Fanon Mendes-France, the chairwoman of the committee, drew parallels between the police killings in the United States and racist lynchings that occurred in the South until the civil rights era.

"Contemporary police killings and the trauma it creates are reminiscent of the racial terror lynchings in the past," Mendes-France told reporters. "Impunity for state violence has resulted in the current human rights crisis and must be addressed as a matter of urgency."



The committee released its preliminary recommendations on Friday after an 11-day fact-finding mission in the US, meeting with black Americans and others in different cities across the country.
Speaking at a press conference in Washington, DC, the group said that Congress should pass the Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act, establish a national human rights commission and publicly acknowledge that the Atlantic slave trade was a crime against humanity....

"Black Lives Matter" That should keep Bob Corker busy for awhile.