Scott Pruitt's correspondence needs to be obtained.

He allows conflict of interest in his decision making. It has to be revealed.

February 17, 2017
By Tom DiChristopher

An Oklahoma County district judge (click here) on Thursday ordered President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the EPA to turn over thousands of communications to a watchdog group.

The decision comes ahead of Pruitt's confirmation to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, which is expected to take place on Friday.

The order is the latest turn in a lawsuit against Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt brought by the Center for Media and Democracy earlier this month. The group charges that Pruitt violated the Oklahoma Open Records Act for declining to make public official documents it has requested since 2015.

Judge Aletia Haynes Timmons instructed Pruitt's office to hand over the emails to the group by Tuesday. The Oklahoma attorney general has 10 days to comply with the group's other records requests, Timmons ruled.

The center has sought correspondences between Pruitt's office and Koch Industries, other mining and drilling companies, and the Republican Attorneys General Association, which Pruitt chaired. As of Thursday's hearing, the office had produced 411 of the 3,000 emails that have been requested, according to the group.

Timmons found "there was an abject failure to provide prompt and reasonable access to documents requested" by the group....

Under President Obama's watch...

...one raid by the US Coast Guard netted 12,000 lbs of cocaine estimated to be worth $121 million. 

Pictured are the 12,000 pounds of cocaine a Northern California crew with the US Coast Guard seized from a homemade vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean on July 18

7 August 2015

This is the incredible moment (click here) the US Coast Guard seized 12,000 pounds of cocaine from a homemade vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

One photo shows the whopping $181 million stash of narcotics lined up along the boat belonging to the US Coast Guard crew in Northern California. 

It doesn't even include another 4,000 pounds of cocaine that was lost when the 40-foot long semi-submersible vessel sank as the Alameda-based crew tried to tow it back to shore during the historic bust.... 

NO SNIFFER DOGS!

Chief Warrant Officer Allyson Conroy said the vessel (shown here being intercepted by the crew from the Coast Guard Cutter Stratton based in Alameda, California) is of the kind specifically made for drug trafficking


How many cantaloupe calved men are needed to carry 12,000 pounds across the USA desert SUCCESSFULLY? 

February 17, 2017

Border Patrol agents in Arizona (click here) have dismantled an enormous drug catapult that was being used to launch illegal drugs into the United States from Mexico.

Mexican authorities in the border town of Agua Prieta seized the enormous device on February 10, following a tip-off from the US Border Patrol.

Agents patrolling the region last week said they noticed a group of men who started to run away as soon as they saw the officials approaching.

When the officials got to the other side of the border fence, they discovered the catapult system attached to it, as well as two bundles of marijuana nearby.

The device seemed to be made out of square tubing and a heavy spring welded together, with ropes tied around different parts of it.

According to a Customs and Border Protection statement, it was "powerful enough to sling two bundles of weed - weighing a combined 47 pounds (21kg) - into the United States from Mexico"....

Considering cantaloupe calves can carry 150 lbs. it would take approximately 80 men marching across the desert to deliver the same amount of cocaine. 

Question of the Day:

"Which method of transportation do Mexican Drug Lords prefer?

A. Submarines

B. Cantaloupe calved men/women

C. Donkeys slapped on the rump in the direction of Phoenix

It was attached to the wall.

The fires are still burning.

February 17, 2017

Frustrated homeowners (click here) still don't know whether their Port Hills homes are standing or have been ravaged by fire.

Cordons blocking residents from going back to the worst-hit areas are likely to remain in place all day as fire crews and helicopters continue to dampen down hot spots.

About 1000 residents have been evacuated and 11 homes have been confirmed lost in the fires, which have been burning since Monday night.

Jack and Ilona Pawlowski were stopped at a cordon at the base of Worsleys Spur today within a few hundred metres of their home they call "paradise".

The Pawlowskis showed a photo of their property to a police officer at the scene and pleaded for them to check with officers up the hill to check on their home....           

Infrastructure doesn't hold up to the climate crisis. This is not alarming to scientists who have heralded the call for decades.

Hm...over half a century really.

February 17, 2017

By Georgina Mitchell

The Bureau of Meteorology (click here) has issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds and large hailstones the Sydney Metropolitan, Hunter, Illawarra, Central Tablelands and parts of the Mid North Coast, Southern Tablelands and North West Slopes and Plains.

The worst of the weather is expected to hit Sydney on Friday afternoon....

...Buses are replacing trains on part of the Hunter and Central Coast line, after lightning strikes affected signals on the tracks, and planes had to be diverted from Sydney Airport as lightning struck....

Once a propagandist, always a propagandist.

The word is paternalistic. "Daddy knows best." Forbid, Daddy shouldn't have a purpose anymore.

February 17, 2017
By Paul McGeough

..."[Trump] (click here) claims that the very institutions empowered in a democracy to expose lies are themselves corrupt, dishonest and lying. In spreading his meta-lies, Trump poisons the well of democratic discourse," writes Lawrence Douglas, professor of law, jurisprudence and social thought at Amherst College, Massachusetts.

At times all politicians lie. But Douglas sees something more insidious in what he casts as Trump's reckless disregard for reality – "Trump doesn't even make the pretence of trying to hoodwink his opponents. Instead, he deceives his supporters by lying about the neutrality and integrity of our truth-defending institutions, he consolidates his power by depriving his supporters of tools that might authorise an informed, critical assessment of his performance."

Now, as former House Speaker and Trump fan Newt Gingrich says, facts and statistics are not as important as feelings, suspicions, prejudices and anecdotal evidence....

Wow, the US House Oversight Committee called Bryan Pagliano in contempt.

Does Chaffetz ever understand his power or lack of it. Contempt only means the committee has the right to take legal actions to compel testimony.

JASON, BRYAN PAGLIANO ALREADY TESTIFIED!

There is no reason for a grand jury, Bubba. I suppose Jeff Sessions of the Ultra White has magical powers to change the past. Amazing.

The Clinton email 'thing' is over. Remember, Comey couped the country for the Ultra White already! It's over.

June 7, 2017
By Rachel Stockman

Bryan Pagliano, (click here) the Clinton IT worker who is widely believed to have maintained former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton‘s private server, filed copies of his DOJ immunity agreements, and a motion asking the court to keep those documents under seal. The documents are part of a federal FOIA case brought on by Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog organization.

“The U.S. Government counsel responsible for the investigation that gave rise to the grant of use immunity consented to that request,” Pagliano’s attorney wrote in a newly filed document.

His attorneys also reveal that Pagliano gave the testimony to the DOJ in December 2015 as part of the ongoing federal investigation into the Clinton email server. Interestingly, Pagliano’s attorneys say he was granted limited “use” and “derivative use” immunity shortly after talking with the feds. He apparently spoke with investigators on at least two separate occasions.  “Derivative use” immunity does not prevent the government from prosecuting Pagliano, but just limits them from using any evidence derived from Pagliano’s testimony against him...

Admiral Mike Mullens is the best choice for NSA.

Mullen at the Pentagon during the September 11 attacks in 2001

He is second from the right at the table. He was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs that went to Pakistan and called out the Haqquani network. He knows more about terrorists globally than most.

It would be more than interesting to see him put a domestic picture to his knowledge.

September 23, 2011
By Adam Levine

A Pakistan-based terrorist group (click here) that is actively attacking American troops across the border in Afghanistan is an "arm" of the Pakistani intelligence agency, the top U.S. military officer told Congress on Thursday.

The blunt accusation from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael Mullen, reflected the growing impatience of U.S. officials with Pakistan's unwillingness to stop the attacks and the belief that Pakistan is actively supporting the insurgents.

But the recent high profile attacks by insurgents in Afghanistan represent a shift in strategy by the Taliban, who have ceded control of territory in much of the country, the U.S. secretary of defense said Thursday....

Rarely seen in the USA military, Admiral Mullens cultivated relationships between ranking officers in Pakistan. The country is highly unstable because of a tribal region that has yet to be tamed.

Mullen praised Pakistani Army Chief Gen Ashfaq PervezKayani for taking ‘bold steps’ against the insurgents. Kayani and the country’s political leadership face growing demands from Washington to take decisive action against the militants who are alleged to enjoy support from the country’s intelligence service. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he has gone out of his way to build a rapport with his Pakistani counterpart, General Ashfaq Kayani, speaking to him regularly and holding 10 face-to-face meetings since November 2007.

Osama bin Laden was not found in that tribal region, but, in the back yard of a Pakistan military academy. That makes a great deal of sense once applied to bin Laden's status and claim to 911. 

The Pakistani ISI is as much an enemy of the government, or at least it was, as the enemies within the country. I haven't followed the ISI lately, but, I am sure they are as tenacious today as the past.

The point is Admiral Mullens may still have work to be done. He is extremely knowledgeable to all the players, places and events. He could step into the job today and never miss a beat.

February 17, 2017
By Muhammad Farooq and Adil Jaward

Pakistani forces killed and arrested (click here) dozens of suspects in sweeping raids as the death toll from a massive suicide bombing by the Islamic State group that targeted a famed Sufi shrine the day before rose to 88 on Friday.

The terror attack — Pakistan's deadliest in years — stunned the nation and raised questions about the authorities' ability to rein in militant groups despite several military offensives targeting militant hideouts.

It also threatened to drive a deeper wedge between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Islamabad quickly lashed out at Kabul, saying the bombing was masterminded in militant sanctuaries across the border in Afghanistan.

Underscoring tensions, Pakistan fired a blistering round of artillery shells into Afghan territory on Friday and shut down the Torkham border crossing, a key commercial artery between the two neighbors.

Afghan police chief Gul Agha Roohani in eastern Nangarhar province told The Associated Press the artillery assault began on Friday morning, although there was no immediate confirmation from Pakistan....

Pakistan is the only country left for them to hide. Daesh won't find welcome there either. The people in Pakistan are diverse in their spiritual beliefs and Daesh has done incredible damage to antiquities in the region. Daesh already has many enemies in Pakistan.

The Pakistani people can be tenacious. The Taliban made a huge play to rule the streets years ago and they were ousted.

I don't see the sale as a possibility at all, actually. UNLESS, Unilever had competition pressing it's viability.

United Kingdom companies are very valuable to the country in general. It doesn't matter where the operations are in the world, the income translates directly into funding the government through taxation. The UK needs it's multi-nationals in a way the USA does not.

Kraft-Heinz should pursue their own product line. Dove is hard to beat. It is a unique product people have trusted for generations. It isn't going anywhere. Kraft-Heinz should have some fun and bring about unique products to the market out of the R&D. It is a better idea that will create jobs and build a wider base of support. 

If course, I would like that R&D to take place in the USA, of course.

February 17, 2017
By Martinne Geller

Unilever (ULVR.L) (click here) rejected a surprise $143 billion takeover bid from U.S. food company Kraft Heinz Co (KHC.O) on Friday, saying it saw no reason to discuss a deal which it said had no financial or strategic merit.

But while Unilever, the maker of Lipton tea and Dove soap, said the $50 per share offer undervalued it and recommended its shareholders take no action, Kraft Heinz said it looked forward to "working to reach agreement on the terms of a transaction".

Analysts saw this as a sign Kraft was open to a higher bid, although the Anglo-Dutch company said in a statement it saw no basis for further talks. Unilever shares jumped as much as 14 percent to a record high. They were up 13 percent at 37.79 pounds ($46.92) at 1338 GMT, short of the offer price.

A combination of the two multinationals would be the third-biggest takeover in history and the biggest ever acquisition of a UK-based company, according to Thomson Reuters data....  

What happens now that the TPP is ancient history?

China develops it's own Middle Class and Wall Street profits.

When Nixon opened relations with China it was to bring better economies to both countries, then the entire ideal was turned over to Wall Street and stupidity reigned. 

The USA has decided not to ratify the TPP, (click here) which was originally conceived as a way of promoting economic growth through encouraging trade between Pacific Rim Countries. If the bi-lateral trade agreement had been passed it would have reduced regulatory barriers and cut tariffs between the signatory countries.

The new administration has been clear that their focus is on USA based businesses, producing domestically and creating jobs for American workers. To do so, it is likely that there will be an increase in taxes on imports from countries currently operating a trade surplus versus the USA. Related to which a 20% tax on Mexican imports was touted as a way of financing the construction of a border wall to control immigration.

These policies will increase costs for those trying to sell into the USA and these businesses in turn are likely to pass at least part of these costs onto US consumers in the form of higher prices. One of the impacts of which will be the increased competitiveness of domestic businesses who are able to avoid these increased costs....

The American people never bargained for job loss and poverty, but, it did expect the countries that would now be trading partners to improve the wealth of the country, BUT ALSO, to improve the quality of life of the people. The people of the USA never expected Wall Street to pull "the quick and dirty."

"Quick profits in immoral environments."

Wall Street was suppose to invest in China, but, not for port cranes. It was suppose to invest in infrastructure that would produce products the Chinese would buy.

Trade relations would result in purchases in China of products they didn't produce yet, like cars or washers and dryers. That didn't happen and let's face it the infrastructure of China is not really up to speed even today to bring a modern face to the Chinese infrastructure.

Water treatment plants needed to be built with sewage pipes and water pipes. Homes that were made to last in areas of the country able to sustain people. Preservation of nature in places in China that could be a tourist haven to enhance the deeper and more impoverished areas of China. I don't see a Trump Hotel in the mountains where poverty still exists.

There was a great deal the American people wanted to happen in countries such as Bangladesh and India when relations were normalized and encouraged. What happened instead were CEOs looking for bonuses at any price and golden parachutes when they ccouldn't provide those profits.

IT HAS BEEN DISGUSTING to watch Wall Street exploit every person on Earth. They went the easy route to quick returns and never bothered to place morality before money to realize there are people at the end of the production line. Basically, Wall Street squandered an opportunity while making the American people look bad.

When are the American people going to be the heroes rather than those that exploit for money at any cost!

...Each one of the 50 states has sovereignty relating to incorporation procedures, taxes and laws, while each city or county may impose further requirements for local taxes and business licenses.

Each state in which you register to do business, requires a registered 'local' agent for service of process....

This is insane for some of the most productive farmland in the world.

If land has agricultural assessment, NO PIPELINES!

February 15, 2017
By Dan Mika 

...According a opinion released Wednesday, the court found the Iowa Utilities Board had not broken state or federal law when it granted construction permits to Texas-based oil company Dakota Access to build the pipeline across 18 Iowa counties, including Story and Boone counties, and denied requests for further review by landowners and environmental groups last year....

...In a news release, Bill Hanigan, an attorney representing 14 landowners including in the lawsuit, vowed to appeal the ruling to the Iowa Supreme Court. The landowners have 30 days to appeal the ruling.

"We are disappointed,but we're not deterred," said Hanigan, an attorney with the Davis Brown law firm. "A private, out-of-state company, which doesn't serve Iowans, should not be able to use eminent domain to seize Iowa farmland for the purpose of exporting crude oil."

Farm Operations (click here)

Area Operated, Measured in Acres/Operation               349
Number of Operations                                          87,500
Acres Operated                                             30,500,000

Grain Corn alone is valued at $8,769,600,000. That is correct, OVER eight BILLION PER SEASON. That is more than Trump could every hope to be worth, yet alone repeat it year after year. The production per acre of 192 bushels per acre is unheard of anywhere else in the world. 

ABSOLUTELY no pipeline!

This isn't just funny money, it is all a part of the USA GDP.

What Democrat is going to find the federal monies to assist Ames, Iowa?

February 15, 2017
By Austin Cannon

...Board President Luke Deardorff (click here) introduced a non-binding proclamation that states the district plans to level the building at 3622 Woodland St. and turn the six-acre space over to the city of Ames to be used as a park. In agreement with the school board, the Edwards Neighborhood Association has been raising money to assist the district in paying for the building's demolition, which will cost in the neighborhood of $450,000....

A half a million dollars is a lot of money for any city. Democrats need to be heroes and not zeros!

Whether it is blind greed or a hate for the country it is still treason.

February 15, 2017

By Kurt Eichenwald

As part of intelligence operations (click here) being conducted against the United States for the last seven months, at least one Western European ally intercepted a series of communications before the inauguration between advisers associated with President Donald Trump and Russian government officials, according to people with direct knowledge of the situation....

A candidate can win the White House through a popular vote, but, then he has to govern. Just because he opposed TPP and the American people loved it doesn't mean he can deal with Russia under the table or otherwise and get away with it. This is not the election anymore, this is governance.

We can't have allies that don't trust us and intelligence agencies concealing information from the Executive Branch because they are worried about leaks. The leaks evidently aren't coming from ghosts so much as the Chairman of the Party.

There is too much self-righteousness in the Ultra White and it shows. They don't play by the same rules as everyone else and now they are treating the USA as a vehicle and not a country.           

The International Institute for Strategic Studies

Among the winning photos from the "World Press."

Sisters Olga and Adelina Lim Hi, one of the few Korean descendants who do not have mixed heritage.Their grandfather was Im Cheon Taek, one of the leading figures of the earliest Korean community in Cuba. [Photo by Michael Vince Kim/Courtesy of World Press Photo Foundation via VCG]

At the hospital, (click here) Najiba holds her two-year-old nephew Shabir who was injured from a bomb blast in Kabul on 29 March 2016. Afghanistan has endured armed conflict since 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded. Afghan civilians are at greater risk today than at any time since Taliban rule, which ended in 2001. According to UN statistics, in the first half of 2016 at least 1,600 people died, and more than 3,500 people were injured. Despite billions of dollars spent by the international community to stabilize the country, Afghanistan has seen little improvement in terms of overall stability and human security. [Photo by Paula Bronstein, for Time Lightbox / Pulitzer Center For Crisis Reporting/Courtesy of World Press Photo Foundation via VCG]

Riot police clear marchers from a secondary road outside a Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) worker camp using rubber bullets, pepper spray, tasers and arrests in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, US, November 15, 2016. In other incidents they've employed militarized vehicles, water canons, tear gas and have been accused of using percussion grenades. [Photo by Amber Bracken/Courtesy of World Press Photo Foundation via VCG]

China is taking criticism of human rights abuses seriously.

For a very long time one of the criticisms of the Chinese government has been it's human rights record. The prisons and prisoners were always a concern of the international community. Now, lawyers in China want better opportunity to represent the poor. 

I hope the Chinese government takes these dedicated and moral lawyers seriously and establishes funding for representation of all those taken prisoner.

February 15, 2017
By Capo Yin

A lack of defense lawyers (click here) means many people are appearing in court without adequate legal representation. Cao Yin reports.

Lawyers and legal experts are calling on the government to expand the provision of legal aid to a larger number of defendants and provide better funding to encourage more lawyers to accept criminal defense cases.

The ongoing efforts to improve the rule of law have resulted in a number of wrongful convictions being overturned, including that of Chen Man, who was sentenced to 23 years for murder. In February last year, the appeals court ruled that the evidence brought against Chen was circumstantial and that his involvement in the murder could not be proved beyond doubt.

The quashing of Chen's conviction was a boost for his lawyer, Wang Wanqiong. "My job is to play a bigger role in upholding justice," she said.

Following Chen's release, Wang's phone rang continually as people called in the hope of obtaining legal advice or persuading her to defend them in court.

"I could feel the trust the defendants and the judicial officers placed in me, which gave me a real sense of achievement," she said....

New Zealand is burning. Homes have been destroyed in Christchurch.

Live Blog (click here)

February 16, 2017

Anxious Christchurch residents (click here) evacuated from their Port Hills homes overnight are urgently trying to check whether their homes are still standing....

...Chas Muir, 65, was evacuated from his Harry Ell Drive home near the Sign of the Takahe about 9pm.

"From the Sign of the Takahe you could see it was really close, stretching right down the gully, to the new Adventure Park and to Kennedys Bush, you could see it go on for miles," Muir said....

Palestinians require a two state solution.

Perhaps First Lady Melania should meet with Queen Raina of Jordan to discuss the perils of the Palestinians in the Middle East. Queen Raina (click here) was born to Palestinian parents. I am quite sure she can speak of their plight.

She states, "We shouldn't judge people through the prism of our own stereotypes."

February 15, 2017
By Reuters

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (click here) warned on Wednesday against abandoning the idea of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying there was "no alternative."

"There is no alternative solution for the situation between the Palestinians and Israelis, other than the solution of establishing two states and we should do all that can be done to maintain this," Guterres said during a visit to Cairo.

The UN chief's comments came after Trump administration officials suggested that peace between the parties might be possible in another framework.

On the eve of Trump's first official meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a senior White House official said it was up to the Israelis and Palestinians themselves to decide on the shape of any future peace.Meanwhile, the Palestinians have warned the United States against abandoning a two-state solution....

Someone didn't get 'the word' that "Nam' was allowed a life.

He was kinda cute in a North Korean sort of way. I am sorry he never got to "Tokyo Disneyland." He liked The West.

February 15, 2017

By Ju-min Park

Seoul (Reuters) - Five years ago, Kim Jong Nam, (click here) the half-brother of North Korea's ruler, pleaded with his younger sibling to spare his life, according to two lawmakers in South Korea.

He wrote a letter to Kim Jong Un, who took power after their father Kim Jong Il died in December 2011, and asked him to withdraw a standing order for his assassination, according to the lawmakers, who were briefed by South Korea's spy agency....

The Trump presidency is untrustworthy.

Vladimir Putin may want to save the tigers from extinction, but, he would never enter a cage with one.

February 15, 2017
By Aaron Blake

The New York Times and CNN (click here) are both reporting that members of Donald Trump's campaign spoke with Russia frequently during the campaign.

It's worth noting that their reporting includes significant caveats. Most importantly, it's not clear these discussions involved the campaign. The Times says the contacts were with “Russian intelligence officials,” while CNN says it was with “Russian nationals known to U.S. intelligence.” And, as the Times notes, “it is not unusual for American businessmen to come in contact with foreign intelligence officials, sometimes unwittingly, in countries like Russia and Ukraine, where the spy services are deeply embedded in society.”...

There will be inevitable war between the USA and Russia. That is a fact, the only question is how many will die?

"W" did a terrible thing. He invaded an unarmed country and set up housekeeping for oil. What does Russia have the most of?

Since March 19 - 20 of 2003 the world was on alert of a "One Superpower" paradigm in the world. Every country in the world assessed it's ability to defend itself. Today we are faced with a growing willingness of countries to unhinge treaties and move into war to resolve the paradigm created by "W"'s presidency.

Is Vladimir Putin a genius strategist? Good question. He has kept Russia alive and somewhat thriving since the USSR collapsed. In some ways I don't even now if assessing Putin is important so much as assessing the large states within Russia and their leadership.

See, the one question that The West must answer is whether or not there is political will within Russian leadership to follow Putin into war with The West. If the answer is further collapse of Russia, then there is no major war in anyone's future. But, if Putin has been able to make nationalism stick so there is political will to destroy The West then there is a major issue.

Even if Putin has no political will within Russian leadership for a war with The West, there is nothing stopping him from a nuclear engagement. He has already threatened same when they first destroyed the treaty of Ukraine.

It is obvious and The West is stupid to ignore it, Russia is on the move. Russia is breaking treaties and moving forward with an agenda of occupation where it can. Russia is dangerous right now. But, can it destroy The West? Not likely, but, it could serve a blow to countries that would create a far different world than we have today. Russia would not go unscathed. Russians would pay a dear price for a president without reassurances of survival of the Russian people.

This is fact. President Obama attempted to reverse the foolishness of "W." He reached out to countries around Earth that the USA has never engaged before and placed hope where there was none. He instilled the idea that peace can be obtained and all people could have a better quality of life and ultimately happiness. Barak Obama believed that and so do I, but, with another Neocon in the White House there is little hope for peace so much as isolationism.

I think the global community has many challenges and all the hope seeded by Obama can be gone in a flash of a nuclear explosion. It can happen within seconds from now and we will be in a very different world.

Donald Trump is not capable of leading the USA in such a world.