Trump doesn't seem interested in protecting Hispanic soldiers.

These murders have been occurring all year. This is not a mass murder that surprised the authorities in the White House. This is a serial killer and no one is interested in ending it.

August 31, 2020

By ShaCamree Gowdy

In an undated image provided by the U.S. Army, Army Pfc. Vanessa Guillen, 20, who had been missing from her unit since April 22, 2020. Months after Guillen was last seen, a lawyer for the family said her remains had been found, and the Army announced updates on the case.

At least nine Fort Hood soldiers (click here) have been found dead since the beginning of the year, and a dozen Texas senators are now calling for a congressional investigation into the military base.

In a letter sent to Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, members of the Texas Congressional Delegation, Liaison to the Secretary Scott Mras and Gov. Greg Abbott, the 12 Texas senators who are part of the Texas Senate Hispanic Caucus said they acknowledge the Army is taking steps to examine the base, but the review is being conducted by the Army itself.

"Anything other than a thorough transparent investigation into the processes, discipline, and the United State's Army handling of the matters in their aftermath would be a disservice to the Guillen, Morales, Morta and now Fernandes families," they said, respectively citing the names of the most recent victims....

...The body of 23-year-old Sgt. Elder Fernandes "was found hanging in a tree" on Tuesday in Temple, about a week after he went missing. Fernandes reported being a victim of sexual assault in May, and had recently learned his claims were deemed unsubstantiated, according to the Washington Post....

..."The purpose of this independent review is to determine whether the command climate and culture at Fort Hood, and the surrounding military community, reflects the Army’s values, including safety, respect, inclusiveness, and a commitment to diversity, and workplaces and communities free from sexual harassment," the Army said on its website.

The lack of the military to end this violence against our soldiers brings to mind the readiness of the military, too.

Scott Atlas is an idiot.

He is Trump politics at its worst. Where is Mr. Atlas going to find the hospital capacity to handle “herd immunity.” Another Trump advisor too dangerous to me taken seriously.

The Pro-Trump supported in Portland...

 ...are vigilantes that came from other areas of the country to increase the violence in Portland. They remind me of al Qaeda. That is how Middle East terrorists deliver death and bombs to city streets, by pick-up truck.

The vigilante truck processions are breaking the law with their illegal protests.

The Courts

Flynn’s case is not dismissed. In an 8 - 2 decision, a federal appeals court upholds the charges against the disgraced former USA General Michael Flynn. The American people are not alone in upholding the Rule of Law.

"Good Night, Moon"

Waxing gibbous

12.8 day old moon

95.5 percent lit

August 27, 2020

By Marcus Schneck

The next full moon, (click here) the Full Corn Moon, will shine the night of Tuesday, September 1, into the morning of September 2.

With a lunar cycle averaging 29.5 days, that will place the subsequent full moon, the Harvest Moon, on October 1, allowing for a second full moon in October, a Blue Moon, on Halloween, October 31.

“A Blue Moon is a fairly infrequent phenomenon involving the appearance of an additional full moon within a given period,” according to Space.com. “But which period? It turns out there are two definitions of the term, and one was borne out of a misunderstanding of the other....

Demoralized

The USA has been demoralized on all fronts by Trump and his entourage of lying politicians. There is even reason to disbelieve the CDC and other cabinet level agencies. There needs to be a change of administration in Washington, DC to return expertise to those that serve the people of this country. There is no speculation about that. There are many qualified people that really do care about the USA willing to stand up for the country, democracy, freedom, and liberty.

August 20, 2020
By Tim Reid

Los Angeles - Over 70 former Republican national security officials (click here) including ex-CIA and FBI chiefs will endorse Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Friday while launching a scathing indictment of President Donald Trump, calling him corrupt and unfit to serve.

The group, called Former Republican National Security Officials for Biden, includes some of the most senior Republican members of the U.S. defense and intelligence establishment to have served in the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Trump.

The 73-strong group includes retired General Michael Hayden, who served as national security director and head of the CIA; William Webster, the only man to serve as both head of the CIA and FBI; John Negroponte, the first director of National Intelligence; Michael Leiter, former director of the National Counterterrorism Center; and Mike Donley, former Air Force secretary.

Their full-throated condemnation of Trump and backing of Biden will come three days before Trump’s nominating convention opens on Monday and underscores how the Republican president has alienated some members of his own party, especially among intelligence and foreign policy veterans....

The country has sincere problems that are directly related to national security and it doesn't stop with COVID-19, it begins there.

I recently was tested for SARS-CoV-2. The test took two days to get the results and it was negative. There is no room for thinking herd immunity by contracting the virus is the best way forward, that is simply surrending. There is no place for surrender to contract COVID-19 anywhere in this paradigm. The FATIGUE the USA feels is due to a failed administration in Washington, DC. The people are not the problem, their leadership is the problem. 

Americans need to resolve to change the administration in Washington, DC and while they are at it, give the new administration majorities in the US House, Senate, and Statehouses. I could not be more serious. I am not surrending. I have no plans to contract a deadly virus in HOPES that MAYBE everything will be okay after I come off the ventilator. That entire idea is insane. No one waves the white flag and plan as their survival strategy to make it off the ventilator. That is nothing more than demoralized people. Entertaining that sort of idea is insane. It is absolutely an image straight out of depression and fatigue.

Governors such as Ron DeSantis is in violation of human rights. All of us are violated by Ron DeSantis. We don't know who has been to Florida on a lark and returned with a virus residing in their being waiting for an opportunity to spread. 

Americans cannot look the other way out of pure fatigue of the Trumpiside path. We need to be Americans, strong, and resolved. We need to return pride and function in our society and that isn't going to happen without Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

I hesitate to state the latest statistics because I have no confidence in the CDC reporting about COVID-19 at this point. But, here it is.

The map to the left is where positive results are found. The darker the blue the higher the positive result. The southern governors have completely failed their people.

83,521,898 tests reported (click here)

7,218,515 positive results which mean there are that many cases, repeat infection or not.

182,149 people dead

Add to the COVID-19 economic losses, the natural disasters throughout the country, and the USA's economy is more than worrisome.

August 27, 2020

The U.S. Small Business Administration (click here) granted Gov. Roy Cooper’s request for a disaster declaration for small businesses and homeowners facing damage from a tornado that struck as Hurricane Isaias passed through the state on Aug. 4.

“With a tornado on top of a pandemic, this SBA approval will provide much-needed help to our small businesses and homeowners,” said Cooper.

The declaration authorizes low-interest disaster loans to residents and businesses who suffered losses in Bertie County and the contiguous counties of Chowan, Halifax, Hertford, Martin, Northampton and Washington. SBA disaster loans provide up to $200,000 to homeowners and up to $2 million to businesses to repair and/or replace damaged property. Homeowners and renters would also be eligible for loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged personal property....

The economic impact by Trump's failed strategy with COVID-19 is enormous and growing.

August 28, 2020

By Davide Scigliuzzo, Josh Saul, Shannon D. Harrington, Claire Boston and Demetrios Pogkas

Retailers, airlines, restaurants. (click here)  But also oil producers, a chain of donut shops in Portland, Oregon, and one of the largest crane services companies in North America. These are some of the more than 200 companies that declared bankruptcy in the U.S. this year and blamed Covid-19 in part for their demise.

Many were in deep financial trouble even before governors ordered non-essential businesses shut to help contain the spread of the virus. Most will try to reorganize and emerge from court smaller and less-indebted. The hardest hit, however, are selling off prized assets and some are closing for good.

They include plenty of big, iconic names. California Pizza Kitchen and Brooks brothers and now Stein Mart, the discount retailer that’s weighing shutting all its locations. The vast bulk, though, are small and medium-sized businesses scattered across the country. Their downfall might not normally garner much attention, but it does underscore the full extent of the damage Covid-19 has inflicted on the economy.

The list compiled for this story is based on court records, statements or interviews in which business owners explicitly linked the virus to their filing. It is only a snapshot of the thousands of corporate entities that have landed in bankruptcy court since the pandemic took hold in March. And it doesn’t capture the countless businesses that closed shop permanently without seeking protection in court....

This is not the flu. The question is the heart injured or diseased.

If injured the damage is isolated, but, if diseased then it is a life long medical condition. This virus is very dangerous to the future of any society. It has the capacity to disable an entire society.

July 27, 2020
By Elizabeth Cooney

Two new studies from Germany (click here) paint a sobering picture of the toll that Covid-19 takes on the heart, raising the specter of long-term damage after people recover, even if their illness was not severe enough to require hospitalization.

One study examined the cardiac MRIs of 100 people who had recovered from Covid-19 and compared them to heart images from 100 people who were similar but not infected with the virus. Their average age was 49 and two-thirds of the patients had recovered at home. More than two months later, infected patients were more likely to have troubling cardiac signs than people in the control group: 78 patients showed structural changes to their hearts, 76 had evidence of a biomarker signaling cardiac injury typically found after a heart attack, and 60 had signs of inflammation.

These were relatively young, healthy patients who fell ill in the spring, Valentina Puntmann, who led the MRI study, pointed out in an interview. Many of them had just returned from ski vacations. None of them thought they had anything wrong with their hearts....

April 6, 2020

By Markian Hawryluk

...In addition to lung damage, (click here) many COVID-19 patients are also developing heart problems — and dying of cardiac arrest.

As more data comes in from China and Italy, as well as Washington state and New York, more cardiac experts are coming to believe the COVID-19 virus can infect the heart muscle. An initial study found cardiac damage in as many as 1 in 5 patients, leading to heart failure and death even among those who show no signs of respiratory distress.

That could change the way doctors and hospitals need to think about patients, particularly in the early stages of illness. It also could open up a second front in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, with a need for new precautions in people with preexisting heart problems, new demands for equipment and, ultimately, new treatment plans for damaged hearts among those who survive.

“It’s extremely important to answer the question: Is their heart being affected by the virus and can we do something about it?” said Dr. Ukrucg Jorde, the head of heart failure, cardiac transplantation and mechanical circulatory support for the Montefiore Health System in New York City. “This may save many lives in the end.”...

Drinking alcohol in a social setting during the pandemic can minimally decrease awareness of social distancing.

Alcohol consumption is a safety concern during the global pandemic.

June 4, 2020

By Carrie MacMillan

From Zoom happy hours to “wine o’clock” memes (click here) floating around on social media, the pressure to grab a drink to take an edge off your pandemic anxiety can sometimes feel strong. Not being able to visit friends or enjoy many out-of-home activities leaves some people feeling like they don’t have much else to do, so why not enjoy a glass of wine—or two or three?

Indeed, data from Nielsen indicates people are drinking more. For the week ending May 2, total alcohol sales in the U.S. were up by more than 32% compared to the same week one year ago. These figures have some medical experts worried.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) have issued communications warning people to avoid excessive drinking, saying it may increase COVID-19 susceptibility and severity. Beyond that, alcohol consumption is already a major public health problem in the U.S., the NIAAA says. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), from 2006 to 2010, "excessive alcohol use “ was responsible for an annual average of 88,000 death, including 1 in 10 deaths among working-age adults aged 20 to 64 years.” And studies have linked alcohol consumption to an increased risk of breast and other cancers....

From "The Lancet;"

August 20, 2020

By Jin Un Kim, Amir Majid.Rebekah Judge, Peter Crook, Rooshi Nathwani, Nowlan Selvapatt, James Lovendoski. Pinelopi Manousou, Mark Thursz, Ameet Dhar. Heather Lewis, Nikhil Vergis and Maud Lemoine

...69 (38%) patients were classified as abstinent before lockdown, (click here) with a mean abstinence period of 19·5 months (SD 22). Of this subgroup, 12 (17%) relapsed during lockdown. Mean AUDIT score within the relapse group at the time of our survey was 15·7 (SD 9·6), representing a 226% mean increase from before lockdown, with a mean weekly consumption of 48·8 units (SD 63) during lockdown. Of the 113 individuals who were previously drinking before the lockdown, 14 (12%) became newly abstinent since the beginning of lockdown.

Among all participants, 55 (30%) had either a virtual or face-to-face contact with the clinic during lockdown;...

Native American teenagers, especially the boys, are far more susceptible to depression and suicide in Native American communities.

Many Native/Indigenous tribes (click here) embrace a worldview that encompasses the notions of connectedness (with the past and with others), strong family bonds, adaptability, oneness with nature, wisdom of elders, meaningful traditions and strong spirit that may serve as protective factors when it comes to mental health.

- Native/Indigenous people in America report experiencing serious psychological distress 2.5 times more than the general population over a month’s time.

- Although overall suicide rates are similar to those of whites, there are significant differences among certain age groups. The suicide death rate for Native/Indigenous people in America between the ages of 15-19 is more than double that of non-Hispanic whites.

- Native/Indigenous people in America start to use and abuse alcohol and other drugs at younger ages, and at higher rates, than all other ethnic groups.

...The failure of the U.S. government to fulfill its treaty agreements (click here) with Alaskan and Native American people has led to disparities in income and education, the pervasiveness of poverty; and access to care issues. These domains help to set the stage for health disparities that frequently catapult native people to early death. Many of these mental and physical health conditions are preventable. 

I have Native American blood running through my veins, as do millions of other Caucasians. My ancestors were the Blackfeet who live in Northwestern Montana. It is one of the largest tribes in the nation. My sensitivity to the plight of Native Americans with mental illness is especially grave.

One Native American community leader said, “I am dealing with people who have been disenfranchised and their mental illness originates in the system around them, the environment, the surrounding historical trauma. They are not crazy; they are people responding to trauma in their life.”

The Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Wilma Mankiller said, “In Iroquois society, leaders are encouraged to remember seven generations in the past and consider seven generations in the future when making decisions that affect the people.” May our generation consider the past and future regarding mental health care for all minorities, as we should for all other Americans....

Mental health under Trump's health crisis is becoming a crisis all it's won. July 25, 2020 was suppose to mean something; the end of the virus danger.

June 25, 2020

The U.S. Census Bureau (click here) recently reported that a third of Americans show signs of clinical depression and anxiety. These and other mental conditions are becoming amplified during the recent pandemic, while COVID-19 patients and their families are also at high risk to develop depression and anxiety.

Maurizio Fava, MD psychiatrist-in-chief, within the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, is not surprised by the correlation between mental health conditions and COVID-19.

“It’s quite understandable the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to cause significant stress and psychological distress for a large proportion of the population,” he says. “And we know the rates are progressively increasing.”

According to Dr. Fava, there are various factors related to COVID-19 that contribute to the increase in depression rates, including:

Trauma from widespread disease
Grief over losses of life
Fear of getting sick
Unprecedented physical distancing
Financial concerns, including unemployment and housing insecurity
Loss of community
Reduced access to caregivers

But he notes that there are many resources for people suffering from mental health conditions, including mindfulness, telepsychiatry and other recommendations.

The other two numbers were Pre-COVID-19. The deaths are increasing during the pandemic.

The initial shutdown was supposed to be strict and delivered a country with measurable and limited cases that can be contained with contact tracing. The policies from Trump were slow and ineffective and the legislation passed by Congress a complete waste to contain this virus because of radical Republican politics which advocated FREEDOM vs. mask-wearing, social distancing and basically responsible adult behavior.

Those radicalized Republican standards about "Freedom/Liberty" is exactly the ideology playing out in places like Kenoshia (click here). The White Supremacist radicals have stated for so long that their guns are the only thing that stands in between a dictatorship and democracy they have bought into Trump's sales of "Deep State" to prove their dedication to "radical readiness" was the right path to take.

Probably the best examples of these politics are Moscow Mitch and fellow Senator Rand Paul. (click here). 

August 14, 2020

As the COVID-19 global pandemic continues, (click here) so does the nation’s opioid epidemic. The AMA is greatly concerned by an increasing number of reports from national, state and local media suggesting increases in opioid-related mortality—particularly from illicitly manufactured fentanyl and fentanyl analogs. More than 40 states have reported increases in opioid-related mortality as well as ongoing concerns for those with a mental illness or substance use disorder in counties and other areas within the state. This also includes new reports about the need for evidence-based harm reduction services, including sterile needle and syringe services and naloxone.

The AMA is pleased that the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have provided increased flexibility for providing buprenorphine and methadone to patients with opioid use disorder. The AMA is further pleased at increased flexibility provided by the DEA to help patients with pain obtain necessary medications....

Recovery groups have been left without alternatives to group therapy.

August 13, 2020

By Brian Mann

Jennifer Austin, a recovery coach who has struggled with addiction, usually hosts Narcotics Anonymous classes at this Salvation Army center in Ogdensburg, N.Y. They've beencanceled because of the pandemic, leaving more people vulnerable to relapse and overdose.  "I've had people I've never worked with before reach out to me and say, 'Jen, what do I do?'" Austin said.

New data from around the U.S. (click here) confirms that drug overdoses are spiking during the coronavirus pandemic, rising by roughly 18%.

Reports collected in real time by the Washington, D.C.-based group ODMAP — the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program, located at the University of Baltimore — also found a significant spike in the number of fatal overdoses.

"Overdose clusters have shifted from traditional centralized urban locations to adjacent and surrounding suburban and rural areas," said ODMAP program manager Aliese Alter.

The organization compared reported overdoses, fatal and nonfatal, in the weeks leading up to coronavirus quarantine measures and in the weeks after....

Drug Overdoes Deaths as of January 2020 - 71,730

That is a failed strategy with an increase in deaths of 1007 per 12 month period in the USA. At no point since implantation has there been a review for it's effectiveness. This is typical of Trump and his speeches. He makes speeches, but, there is no governance, only the flash of appearing to a crowd. 

 

November 2017 - 70,723 people dead.

12 Month-ending Provisional Number of Drug Overdose Deaths (click here)

When Trump implemented his strategy to end the drug overdose crisis the number of deaths in a 12 month period was 70,723.

President Donald Trump named Chris Christie to chair the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, which held its first meeting in March 2017. The commission disbanded in Nov. 1 after delivering its recommendations.

There can't be multiple truths. Truth is defined as the body of real things, events, and facts.

 How do we unite this country? The most divisive group in recent history is the "Chrisitan Conservative," AKA the Evangelicals. They don't care about the country and put their ideology before the governance of a highly diverse country. They alone have created a political power out of religious dogma. There is no other religious group currently funding politics that bend reality to serve their purpose. They embrace lies so long as there is power that accompanies it.

I think a single religious organization that wants to overtake the country's future is dangerous.

August 20, 2020

In a stunning upset, (click here) Black Lives Matter activist Cori Bush has defeated 10-term incumbent Rep. Lacy Clay in the Democratic primary for Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, according to the Associated Press. Bush, a minister and registered nurse, has been heavily involved in protests against police violence since the 2014 Ferguson protests. Mother Jones‘ Kara Voght wrote about the race last week:...

 

"When the Lies Become the Truth" by Chris Rea (click here for official website - thank you)

When does a lie become the truth?
When does what you want become what you have?
And if your dream came true, could you handle it?
Tell me…
What would you do?
Tell me…
What would you do?
When your lies become the truth
When your lies become the truth

We all love our dusty boots
The pair that tells a thousand tales
And how we burn for going somewhere
With the full wind in our sails
So we will play this game forever
And try to hang on to our youth
And the game is never over
Till our lies become the truth
Till our lies become the truth
Till our lies become the truth

So we will play this game forever
And try to hang on to our youth
And the game is never over
Till our lies become the truth
Till our lies become the truth
Till our lies become the truth
Till our lies become the truth

Trump wants to point fingers at Democratic mayors...

 ...as ineffective at law and order. Excuse me, but the cities FREQUENTLY are hobbled by state Republican legislative majorities.

Ohio fair grounds are offering free testing for SARS-CoV-2. 

I thought it was a good initiative to build awareness and enforce masks.

I'd like to know who insisted on defunding public schools with the CARES ACT.

After a bill is passed into law, the law is then written into rules. In this case THE RULE that was written from the CARES ACT misinterpreted the new law and was handing out bonuses to private schools while the public schools were defunded.

The RULE is egregious. The law was intentionally interpreted wrong. It is amazing what the Trump administration will seek to get away with if given a chance. This is another reason why having a criminal for president only victimizes the people more and more. It isn't enough, as with Moscow Mitch, to obstruct law, it is now a matter of ethical and moral behavior within the ranks of the cabinet and those that interpret law.

Criminal leadership begets criminal following. It is no different than the multitudes of violations of the Hatch Act (click here) by the RNC within their convention. They were all criminal acts, but, I don't see subpoenas, arrests and perp walks as the crimes were being committed or afterward.

It is no different than the police and their deadly conduct in the deaths of African American men, the apprehension of those committing the crime is not speedy enough nor are the arrests and perp walks all over social media. It is as if anyone can break the law and get away with it.

Justice is supposed to be swift enough to make an impression on society and it no longer happens that way. At least 50 percent of the people at the White House for the abuse of power within the Hatch Act should have been arrested as they left. Detained in cells until charges could be written and people presented to a judge for disposition. What occurred in violation of the Hatch Act was at the very least civil disobedience in a display to promote the power Trump has that he can get away with. The only people that should have been left behind as the police vans roared up the streets to it's precinct is the president and vice president. The First Lady, Ivanka and Jared should have been included in those arrested and detained. But, let citizens protest in civil disobedience in outrage of another racial killing and the vans show up with officers in riot gear, National Guard and vigilants that are tolerated at the scene. 

Justice is not equal in the USA and here is another clear violation of rule making that is grossly illegal depriving public schools of much needed funding.

Augsut 27, 2020

A California federal judge (click here) put a temporary stop to a U.S. Department of Education rule that would require public school districts to share coronavirus relief funds with private school students, citing how it would harm at least two Michigan school districts.

The rule misinterpreted language in the CARES Act to give nonpublic schools a greater share of the funding, resulting in at at least $16 million of the federal to be diverted from Michigan public schools to the state's 700 non-public schools, according to a group of state attorney generals that included Michigan's Dana Nessel.

Nessel, one of the Democratic attorneys general on the case filed in California, had argued the CARES Act formula required schools districts to share coronavirus funding with low-income students attending private schools in the district, not any and all private school students....

...“Losing (nearly $16.5 million) of federal funding to private schools would be the equivalent of laying off 466 teachers from public schools in Flint, Michigan,” he wrote.

Nessel and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer praised the decision and promised to continue the lawsuit until the matter is fully resolved....

Racism is getting noticed in other areas of the world.

August 29, 2020
By Tom Dilane

A Māori man (click here) has been left angry and "overwhelmed with emotion" after a Hamilton florist allegedly questioned whether he was an elderly customer's slave.

Tama Dean says the owner of The Plant Place, Bruce Sanson, casually asked a woman in her 70s, who Dean had let in front of him in the line at the counter, "is that your slave?"

When questioned about it, Dean said Sanson claimed the 53-year-old Hamilton resident was only angry "because Black Live Matter is trendy at the moment"....

Cover-ups are illegal. Maybe the police and their unions need to address that among themselves first.

The Kenosha police union is also talking about police actions and still has not addressed the wrongful use of the gun to fire seven shots into a human body. The police would have been better off if they shot out the tires on the getaway car. The responsible police officer should be on leave immediately upon witnessing the illegal use of his gun.

No police officer has a right to shoot a person in the back. The use of that gun was illegal. And all those determined to defend the actions of an illegal act is using the preceding events to justify an illegal act.

The cop was wrong. The police union in Kenosha needs to practice saying, "The officer was wrong and used his gun illegally," before addressing the public to THE FACTS.

It is a complicated circumstance, but, these facts are important.

August 28, 2020

By Jamelle Bouie

...This is a complicated situation, (click here) but a few things are clear. Wisconsin isn’t a “Stand Your Ground” state, and Rittenhouse was in illegal possession of a weapon — under Wisconsin law, it is a Class A misdemeanor for a minor to carry a deadly weapon in the open. There is also no legal right in the state to use deadly force for the protection of property you do not own. And in any case the “Castle Doctrine” only applies to the use of deadly force in one’s home, vehicle or business....

The militias are breaking the law. They are nothing more than vigilantes and are carrying out illegal activities as self-assigned PROTECTORS of property.

...To the conservative media, however, what happened in Kenosha was eminently justifiable and even cause for celebration....

I sincerely believe the right-wing media is engaged in roles no different than the journalists of Rwanda. A journalist does not have to give explicit directions to kill in order to inspire to kill.

4 December 2003

...Phrases like "go to work" (click here) and "the graves are not yet full" were read by radio DJs during the spring of 1994. A newspaper called on citizens to exterminate the "cockroach Tutsis".

Ferdinand Nahimana, who was sentenced to life in jail, was a founding member of Radio Television Libres des Mille Collines, as was Hassan Ngeze, 42, the owner and editor of the Hutu extremist newspaper, Kangura, who also got life.

"Let whatever is smouldering erupt," Ngeze wrote in the newspaper days before the genocide....

Reporting the facts is not the same as rooting them on. It is a real head trip. Having the power of media and getting results by inspiring killing for the sake of killing. 

I did say reporting the FACTS, right?

Where are the prosecutions for the production of these products? Warnings are fine, but, the recklessness is criminal.

August 27, 2020
By Rachael Rettner

Some hand sanitizer products (click here) are being packaged in containers typically used for food and drinks, leading to concerns that people may accidentally ingest the products, according to health officials.

On Thursday (Aug. 27), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned consumers about these hand sanitizer products, which have been packaged in a variety of potentially misleading containers, including beer cans, water bottles, juice bottles, vodka bottles and children's food pouches, the agency said in a statement. In addition, officials have found hand sanitizers with food flavors, such as chocolate and raspberry.

Hand sanitizers typically contain 60% to 70% alcohol, so can be toxic when ingested, particularly for young children who may develop alcohol poisoning....

People are still in need of help.

Hurricane Laura has been downgraded to a tropical storm, but not before it claimed the lives of at least four individuals since it made landfall Thursday morning.

August 28, 2020

By Bill Chappell

Hurricane Laura (click here) unleashed terrible winds on the Louisiana coast, but its effects are "looking relatively tame from an economic perspective" – especially when compared with other powerful storms, according to an early analysis by Moody's Analytics.

Laura is blamed for at least 10 deaths, including five people who died from carbon monoxide poisoning — at least one case involving the use of a generator without proper ventilation. Four people died from trees falling on homes, Gov. John Bel Edwards said. And a man drowned after the boat he was on sank, NPR member station WWMO reported.

The storm is estimated to have caused anywhere from $4 billion to $12 billion in damages to Louisiana and Texas. While Laura showed a staggering amount of power, its damage tally isn't likely to come close to other strong storms such as hurricanes Katrina and Harvey — the two costliest storms in U.S. history.

Katrina caused an estimated $160 billion worth of damage in 2005; Harvey caused $125 billion in damages in 2017.

A key reason for Laura's smaller price tag is that while the hurricane came ashore with 150-mph winds — crashing large trees into houses, ripping roofs off buildings and tossing vehicles around – it avoided densely populated areas such as Houston and New Orleans....

Racial injustice is being addressed by many sports champions.

Naomi Osaka is a professional tennis player who represents Japan. Osaka has been ranked No. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association and is the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles. She has won five titles on the WTA Tour, including two titles at both the Grand Slam and Premier Mandatory levels.

Donald John Trump should never have provided the Russians with top secret information.

August 26, 2020

By David Brennan

There is a reason the Russians are smiling. They have successfully breached the stealth technology which COMPROMISES the USA and any ally that purchased those jets.

The CEO of a Russian technology firm (click here) has claimed that his company's radar product enabled the Iranian military to identify and track American stealth fighter jets during the standoff that followed the assassination of Major General Qassem Soleimani in January.

Alexander Stuchilin, the CEO of the Rezonans research center, told Russia's state-backed Tass news agency Monday Iranian forces used the Rezonans-NE radar system to track American F-35 aircraft; fifth generation jets that are the most advanced in the U.S. arsenal.

"At the beginning of 2020 this radar identified U.S. F-35 planes and tracked them," Stuchilin claimed on the sidelines of the Army-2020 military technology forum in Moscow....

Make a plan to vote. I find this outreach to citizens a wise decision. It is called VOTING EMPOWERMENT.

Some county authorities are doing their level best to protect voters. High risk for contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus resulting in COVID-19 should vote by mail. There is no doubt about it. Voting by mail is the safest method and it begins soon if not started already. Masks work. Handwashing and good hygiene are very important. Don't touch the face without the very least washing hands with hand sanitizer.

The police leadership have to be actively involved in addressing the grievances with resolve to end police brutality.

April 27, 2020
By Rebecca Ellis

With two months left (click here) until he faces voters, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has pledged to take a different tack to leading his city.

Speaking behind a podium in an empty City Hall chamber Wednesday, the mayor issued a mea culpa of sorts, promising to lead both better and more visibly. Wheeler said he felt he hadn’t been focused enough on the crises facing the city and had failed to engage with Portlanders “enough or in the right way.”

“Frankly, I have not been focused enough on the two issues that are the most important to the city of Portland,” he said. “And right now, that is ending the nightly violence and getting our community back on its feet. And number two, it’s about economic recovery, both for our households and our small businesses. I need to focus like a laser beam on those two issues.”

The mayor said he planned to start this new direction with two meetings.

The first would take place Wednesday evening with the police bureau, when he planned to ask if they needed more resources to bring protests to “a peaceful conclusion.” Wheeler said he also wanted to see what ideas the bureau has to hold officers accountable “in real time” rather than through the city’s Independent Police Review, where a complaint against an officer can take months to work its way through the system. The mayor did not specify with whom he was meeting inside the bureau.

Having grievances answered in real-time will provide the protesters with less reason to protest. The protests are happening for real reasons. The resolve by police and citizen leadership has to be just as real as the grievances. Democracy is about people, not the ultimate control of them. Every one of those protests wants peaceful lives, but, it is interrupted by real reasons to protest.

The police violence toward protesters is not helpful when it is simply violence due to power and not governance.

The second meeting will be Thursday with “key stakeholders” from the business community to ask what the city can do to help downtown. The announcement comes on the heels of Williamette Week reporting that a prominent downtown property owner had delivered a heated letter to the City Council saying they were abdicating their duties and endorsing lawlessness in the area....

“tumultuous”

The police, especially those in Portland, have found a new word in their vocabulary to justify violence against protesters.

A riot - when six or more persons engage in tumultuous and violent conduct,”

Here again, the police are identifying police work and definitions without addressing the grievances of the protesters. So long as there is a complete breakdown of accountability by the police that causes the protests, there is every indication they will continue. The police chief needs to identify the reason for the protesters' grievance and what is going to be done to end police brutality. This is nothing more than justification by the police to attack people with real grievances.

It has gotten to be a regular event with both sides expecting the worst from each other. That is dangerous for a democracy. The civilian mayor and council has to take up the grievances of these people and provide a real reason to enact change of policy by police officers.

It is unrealistic to believe police will never be needed in any city in the USA, but, there MUST be an address of grievance in real ways that brings about the end of police brutality.

More layoffs are coming as well as companies facing closures.

August 27, 2020
By Lauren Zumbach

United Airlines will furlough 2,850 pilots (click here) this fall as it faces a sharp decline in travel because of the coronavirus pandemic.

While Chicago-based United still hopes furloughs can be avoided if the federal government gives airlines additional funding to help cover labor costs, “we need to prepare and plan for the future should an extension not be granted,” Bryan Quigley, senior vice president of flight operations, said in a message to pilots Thursday....

The police caused the protests that lead to deaths. The police were RESPONSIBLE for the protests.

There were no protests until the wrongful use of a gun against a black man. That is the direct responsibility of the police and Chief Miskinis has not addressed that police brutality yet.

August 28, 2020

By Dan Hinkel, John Keilman and Stacy St. Clair

Kyle Rittenhouse, (click here) who is charged with shooting and killing two men during this week’s violent demonstrations in Kenosha, will remain in Lake County for another month after a judge on Friday allowed a delay in the court process that could send him to Wisconsin to face the allegations.

Meanwhile, Kenosha police Chief Daniel Miskinis on Friday defended police after they allowed Rittenhouse, 17, of Antioch, to leave the scene of Tuesday’s deadly shooting in the protest-wracked city even though the teen was holding a rifle and had his hands up in what many interpret as a gesture of surrender.

In another development, an attorney for Jacob Blake (click here) told CNN that handcuffs restraining Blake, who is in a Wisconsin hospital, have been removed.

The shooting of Jacob Blake was blatantly wrong. That degree of dangerous police handling of an arrest is what upsets people. The people are right to be upset. The Chief of Police in Kenosha needs to address the loose handling of guns. Make no mistake, the uprising of the people was directly due to police brutality and the wrongful use of guns.

While the police are talking about police work and putting their own understanding "out there," that is as inappropriate as the repeated gunshots that have disabled Jacob Blake. The police officer was wrong and gratefully Blake is still alive. But, the Chief of Police has to address the blatant wrongful use of a gun against an unarmed black man and WHAT IS BEING DONE TO END THAT VIOLENCE AGAINST UNARMED BLACK MEN.

Blake, who is Black, was shot by Kenosha police on Sunday, and it was during protests over that shooting that Rittenhouse allegedly shot three people, two of them fatally. Police have been criticized for failing to apprehend Rittenhouse sooner.

“There were a lot of people in the area, a lot of people with weapons, and unfortunately, a lot of gunfire,” Miskinis (Chief of Police) said at a news conference Friday. “What the officers were ... driving into was a shots fired complaint, not a shooting, not a person down complaint. We have had many of those over the course of this unfortunate event.

“They’re responding to that, they see someone walking toward them with their hands up,” Miskinis said. “That, too, isn’t out of the ordinary given all the events going on. ... We have armed individuals out protesting, or counterprotesting, or simply walking around exercising their right, (who) will put their hands up. It might have been abnormal two weeks ago. It’s no longer abnormal. There’s nothing to suggest this individual was involved in criminal behavior.”

Russia needs to back off the USA troops. No major ally is backing the activity of the USA in Syria.

Russia can have Syria. Russia is Syria's ally. 

The USA military needs to carry out the extraction of the USA troops being surrounded by Russian soldiers. The USA has a "No Fault" policy when it comes to military traffic incidents.

I don't care who's fault it is. Russia can have Syria and the USA military needs to extract it's soldiers from the area. I think a good place for the troops is Jordan and/or Saudi Arabia so they can find a ride home to see their families.

The Kurds can go back to northern Iraq. Someone needs to give them a ride home to Iraq. 

The boys have roughed up each other enough. Time to break it up and go home.

August 27, 2020

The Russian and US governments (click here) have blamed each other for a collision between Russian and US armoured vehicles in north-eastern Syria in which several US troops were injured.

Video of the collision was broadcast by a Russian nationalist website, Rusvesna.su, then widely retweeted.

The video appears to show a Russian military vehicle in a desert convoy ramming a US armoured car, as a Russian helicopter flies low overhead.

Russia says the US obstructed a patrol.

A US defence official told BBC partner CBS News that Russian forces had entered a "security zone" that they had agreed to stay out of.

The White House said the vehicle's crew sustained minor injuries in the collision....

Russia has been Syria's ally for a long time. Russia is attempting to stabilize Syria and this is the result. Russia is interested in "stable states." They don't fuss about the leadership so long as Russia has control over STABILITY. Until Russia has that reassurance in the era of Daesh, it will be a continuous struggle for any force attempting to overrun Assad. The USA is not needed in Syria. If the USA wants to provide a homeland for the Kurds, they need to give them a safe ride back home to northern Iraq.

5 March 2020

By Jonathan Marcus

...He decided early on to deploy air power (click here) to prevent the collapse of the Syrian regime. And, once the position of President Bashar al-Assad was stabilised, Russia used its air power to help the regime to recover territory from the rebels. Idlib is now the last major battleground.

Unlike Western interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Russians had a clear vision of what they wanted to do in Syria and were willing to be single-minded enough (some might say brutal enough) to achieve it....

Trump is putting on a show for the sake of votes. Trump has already done all the damage he is going to cause. People are dead and the land was lost. Trump retreated; the retreat needs to be completed and now he is putting on a show for what might be votes. It is time the USA concludes its business and bring the Americans home. Russia has Syria when it comes to stabilizing it during a very long and deadly civil war.

November 14, 2019

By Uri Friedman

...The same official noted that Syrian Kurdish forces (click here) have been partners in the U.S.-led multinational military campaign against the Islamic State, and that “what happens [in Syria] is being called ‘other people’s business’ even though ‘other people’s business’ will affect in all likelihood America’s European allies.” Then the official posed the fundamental question raised by the U.S. position, one that will linger over the gathering of anti-ISIS coalition members in Washington, D.C., this week: “What does that mean for our confidence that in a time of crisis or challenge we will have the backing of our American allies?” (The official, like several others in this article, asked to speak about the situation in Syria on condition of anonymity.) “It’s too early to say how this will play out. It will depend on whether the risks can be curtailed. But it’s a question that is the writing on the wall right now.”...

Dr. Redfield needs to appear before Congress.

Dr. Robert Redfield, Director of the CDC, has vacillated on CDC recommendations regarding testing for the SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, the website is inconsistent with his latest statements in returning to testing of those believed to have contact with anyone with COVID-19.

Why the inconsistency? And also important is insurance company responsibility with the testing. If the CDC website states testing is not important the insurance companies will see that as a reason not to pay for it which will suppress people from testing when it should continue to increase the testing rate to better understand the spread of the virus.

Trump is going to have a very big bill to the tax collector.

According to the Chicago Tribune the New York Attorney General Donald J. Trump gained income  in the amount of $100 million when his high interest lender, Fortress Credit Corp. agreed to a $48 million payoff on a $150 million loan. That unpaid loan is income. It is very, very taxable.

It looks like three other properties are in question besides the Trump Tower in Chicago.

If this is Trump’s methodology to obtain and maintain his million-billions, he will be on the hook for a whole lot of money to the tax collectors at all levels of government. 

You know, the Robert’s court is wrong in denying the US House, responsible for the US budget, access to Trump’s tax records. The USA has a right to examine records under confidentiality laws income due the US Treasury.

This case in New York State is only the beginning. There will be more and more interest and requests for more and more records from many other sources. Trump is a criminal and guilty of tax evasion.  That was the weakness in the untouchable Al Capone. 

Hurricane Laura

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 achieved far higher winds when in the Gulf. But, Laura (click here) is sustaining it's high winds where Katrina did not. The storm surge of Katrina was also historic at 20 feet. The interesting aspect of Hurricane Laura is the fact it's winds and rain reach up to 200 miles into the interior of the USA. Another hurricane named Hugo had winds reaches up to 250 miles. Laura has it all, high winds, high storm surge and reaches into the interior of the USA up to 200 miles. Those characteristics are sincerely historic in their combination.

I am certain that everyone has been rescused and that would be historic. The authorities had plenty of time to rescue and FORCE EMERGENCY AND MANDATORY EVACUATIONS. I haven't heard the word MANDATORY in any of the warnings.

Attorney General Bill Barr is using the DOJ for political purposes.

Governor Whitmer is absolutely correct and good for her in recognizing the harassment based in politics. If the DOJ was seriously interested in the elderly and the danger due to COVID-19 it would have asked for the information from all 50 states.

It is shameful to the degree the Trump administration uses power for political purposes and not governance. 

August 26, 2020

By Dave Boucher

The U.S. Department of Justice (click here) wants Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and three other states governed by Democrats to turn over data related to nursing homes and COVID-19 deaths.

The governor agreed to provide the data, but blasted the request, labeling it a partisan stump aimed at helping President Donald Trump's re-election bid.

In a news release Wednesday, the department said the requests were sent to states "that issued orders which may have resulted in the deaths of thousands of elderly nursing home residents."

Whitmer defended her actions, arguing the letter relies more on politics than health policy....

The abuse of power never stops. Trump so much cares about himself the most, he is causing life-threatening circumstances for Americans. Getting health information and actual medications through the mail is a very popular choice. And what about the families that are looking for food to be delivered through the service of the USPS? 

Using the USPS is still the most economical way to access communication and distribution of products in the country. What does that say about respect for Americans and their small businesses? Does Trump actually care about the USA economy, because, small businesses have been the backbone of the USA economy? If not mistaken, before Trump, the small businesses in the USA was 50% of the USA economy.

August 25, 2020

By Sonia Moghe

New York Attorney General Letitia James (click here) announced Tuesday her office has filed a federal lawsuit challenging changes to US Postal Service operations ahead of the November election.

The suit asks the court to declare the Postal Service changes unconstitutional, and to block any substantial, nationwide changes to service from being implemented without first seeking an opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission.

Hawaii, New Jersey, New York City and the City and County of San Francisco joined the suit filed in federal court in Washington, DC, on Tuesday.

"This USPS slowdown is nothing more than a voter suppression tactic," James, a Democrat, said in a statement. "Yet, this time, these authoritarian actions are not only jeopardizing our democracy and fundamental right to vote, but the immediate health and financial well-being of Americans across the nation."...