Saturday, December 24, 2016
Nothing much to add right now. This is Saturday rather than Friday. I was traveling yesterday for most of the afternoon and evening.
I hope everyone's Christmas Holiday Season is happy.
I especially wish the children of Flint, Michigan a very Happy Holiday and Merry Christmas.
Friday, December 23, 2016
I will not participate in "Psyops" against the American people as occurred during the USA elections of 2016.
I will not participate in fear that sustains the political base of the Republican Party.
The USA has all the nuclear weapons it needs to protect sovereignty. I already stated, the arms race of the past served no purpose EXCEPT to raise fear within a cold war.
Vladimir, find a new foothold, this isn't going to work.
When non-proliferation succeeds there will be generations that do not appreciate the danger of nuclear weapons. That would be nice. It means Russians and Americans have no reason to fear each other.
Vladimir is the old guard. The Communists of old are still a large part of the Russian political dialogue. It needs to end. This is 2016, populations are growing and need national investments to increase incomes that support many more people. If there is a return to nonsensical nuclear proliferation it is for the politics of fear and not in the benefit of the people. It is hideous to agree to grow nuclear weapons, human life lost at the meer press if a button is that of madmen.
When Russia broke the agreement that moved nuclear material out of Ukraine it was because of the politics of Russia. It has nothing to do with reality. Ukraine wants to move on and find trade with Europe. Russia should do the same. Russia is at war with his own border and complained about interceptor missiles in Europe. None of it makes sense unless one realizes this is political fodder and nothing more. Vladimir in his fear of losing control has shot himself in the foot and started his own war at Russia's border.
Admirably, NATO with the USA has not taken advantage of the self-inflicted war of Russia and escalated it into a larger war footprint to end Russia.
Vladimir, knock it off. Go bend frying pans. I haven't heard much from the savior of tigers either.
I will not participate in fear that sustains the political base of the Republican Party.
The USA has all the nuclear weapons it needs to protect sovereignty. I already stated, the arms race of the past served no purpose EXCEPT to raise fear within a cold war.
Vladimir, find a new foothold, this isn't going to work.
When non-proliferation succeeds there will be generations that do not appreciate the danger of nuclear weapons. That would be nice. It means Russians and Americans have no reason to fear each other.
Vladimir is the old guard. The Communists of old are still a large part of the Russian political dialogue. It needs to end. This is 2016, populations are growing and need national investments to increase incomes that support many more people. If there is a return to nonsensical nuclear proliferation it is for the politics of fear and not in the benefit of the people. It is hideous to agree to grow nuclear weapons, human life lost at the meer press if a button is that of madmen.
When Russia broke the agreement that moved nuclear material out of Ukraine it was because of the politics of Russia. It has nothing to do with reality. Ukraine wants to move on and find trade with Europe. Russia should do the same. Russia is at war with his own border and complained about interceptor missiles in Europe. None of it makes sense unless one realizes this is political fodder and nothing more. Vladimir in his fear of losing control has shot himself in the foot and started his own war at Russia's border.
Admirably, NATO with the USA has not taken advantage of the self-inflicted war of Russia and escalated it into a larger war footprint to end Russia.
Vladimir, knock it off. Go bend frying pans. I haven't heard much from the savior of tigers either.
Thursday, December 22, 2016
Michael Moore is wearing a tie? Really?
Michael Moore (click here) shared his plan to save the country on Facebook Wednesday following Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election. Titled his “Morning After To-Do List,” the “Trumpland” director listed five things voters should do if they’re feeling upset about Trump’s win on Tuesday.
1. “Take over the Democratic Party and return it to the people.”
2. Fire all pundits, predictors, pollsters and anyone else in the media who had a narrative they wouldn't let go of and refused to listen to or acknowledge what was really going on.
3. Any Democratic member of Congress who didn't wake up this morning ready to fight, resist and obstruct in the way Republicans did against President Obama every day for eight full years must step out of the way and let those of us who know the score lead the way in stopping the meanness and the madness that's about to begin.
4. Everyone must stop saying they are "stunned" and "shocked".
5. You must say this sentence to everyone you meet today: "HILLARY CLINTON WON THE POPULAR VOTE!" The MAJORITY of our fellow Americans preferred Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. Period. Let's try to get this all done by noon today. -- Michael Moore
The DNC needs new leadership with a vision of the future. I sincerely believe the Labor Secretary is perfect. Seriously. Labor has always been the center of gravity of the DNC or at least it used to be.
The Democrats in the USA need to return unions to the landscape. We know for a fact the Middle Class is strongest when there are unions involved where they work.
Senator Bernie Sanders was amazing. He has the message the people of this country need to hear. His policies and agenda is very doable. The only thing that needs to be done with the ACA is a public option. The increase in health care insurance premiums is directly related to Americans with chronic and severe illness, such as kidney failure. Those folks should be back on Medicaid, hence a public option. Those folks need their own focus. It will relieve the continuing increases in premiums across the country.
I think Senator Sanders has the best message for the country. We need to continue to refine that message into policies and make that part of the DNC platform.
I do agree Americans need to be more involved with their elected officials.
The popular vote is the wave of the future. We need to move in that direction.
1. “Take over the Democratic Party and return it to the people.”
2. Fire all pundits, predictors, pollsters and anyone else in the media who had a narrative they wouldn't let go of and refused to listen to or acknowledge what was really going on.
3. Any Democratic member of Congress who didn't wake up this morning ready to fight, resist and obstruct in the way Republicans did against President Obama every day for eight full years must step out of the way and let those of us who know the score lead the way in stopping the meanness and the madness that's about to begin.
4. Everyone must stop saying they are "stunned" and "shocked".
5. You must say this sentence to everyone you meet today: "HILLARY CLINTON WON THE POPULAR VOTE!" The MAJORITY of our fellow Americans preferred Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. Period. Let's try to get this all done by noon today. -- Michael Moore
The DNC needs new leadership with a vision of the future. I sincerely believe the Labor Secretary is perfect. Seriously. Labor has always been the center of gravity of the DNC or at least it used to be.
The Democrats in the USA need to return unions to the landscape. We know for a fact the Middle Class is strongest when there are unions involved where they work.
Senator Bernie Sanders was amazing. He has the message the people of this country need to hear. His policies and agenda is very doable. The only thing that needs to be done with the ACA is a public option. The increase in health care insurance premiums is directly related to Americans with chronic and severe illness, such as kidney failure. Those folks should be back on Medicaid, hence a public option. Those folks need their own focus. It will relieve the continuing increases in premiums across the country.
I think Senator Sanders has the best message for the country. We need to continue to refine that message into policies and make that part of the DNC platform.
I do agree Americans need to be more involved with their elected officials.
The popular vote is the wave of the future. We need to move in that direction.
Mr. Trump, the campaign is over.
Donald J. Trump (click here)
@realDonaldTrump
The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capacity until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes.
There is absolutely no way to know what the USA nuclear weapons look like. Donald Trump cannot possibly know what the USA nuclear capacity needs or doesn't need in the short period of time he has been President-Elect.
With this departure from sincere knowledge by Donald Trump and simply a statement of uninformed status of the USA, there is something far more disturbing than this statement alone.
My understanding is President Putin wants to increase it's nuclear arsenal in cooperation with the USA's increase capacity.
December 22, 2016
By Paul Mclear
In a year-end speech (click here) to his top military officers on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin threw down the gauntlet, declaring that the Russian military, emboldened by recent adventures in Syria and Ukraine, is ready to defeat any country that dares challenge it. “We can say with certainty: we are stronger now than any potential aggressor,” he proclaimed. “Anyone.”
He also made a pitch for bigger and badder nuclear weapons. Putin said Moscow must “strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces, especially with missile complexes that can reliably penetrate any existing and prospective missile defence systems.”...
This is about Ukraine. President Putin wants the USA to be a partner in securing and growing the war capacity of the nuclear Russia. This pandering to Trump and being his partner in facilitating the 2016 election is about replenishing Russia as a Superpower. President Putin is scared of Ukraine. He knows the capacity of that country and recent missile tests has Putin extremely insecure about his country.
Putin said something very odd, "If you elect Hillary Clinton there will be nuclear war, but, if you elect Donald Trump that won't happen." That won't happen because Putin fully expects Trump to be manageable.
President Putin is a foolish man. He believes increased nuclear capacity will solve Russia's problems with Ukraine. There cannot be a nuclear exchange across borders between the two countries. A nuclear exchange between Ukraine and Russia would destroy both countries.
President Putin and his own rebels in Crimea and at the border between Ukraine and Russia need to return to MINKS II.
The post Soviet states have been stating they believe President Putin wants to reclaim the Soviet Union. The would seem to be correct. There would be no other reason for Russia to escalate nuclear capacity. The USA is interested in non-proliferation and not increased danger to the world. When non-proliferation began the USA and Russia had incredible stockpiles that would destroy the entire population of the world many times over. It is unreasonable and foolish to return to that status.
Mr. Trump is going to have to receive a sincere briefing about Russia and Ukraine as soon as possible IF HE WILL. The tensions that exist between Russia and the post Soviet states are real and palpable. I have no doubt Russia would rather 'feel secure' by invading lands that were once the Soviet Union, but, it is highly imprudent.
Russia needs to stop being paranoid about the world in general. It's politics are horrible and highly nationalistic. Russia needs to return to treaties and peace priorities and not a return to war and nuclear proliferation.
During the "W" years, there was a refit to the USA nuclear capacity. That is not a return to proliferation. This demand for escalation of nuclear confrontation by Russia has to stop and peace agreements and non-proliferation returned to guarantee the lives of Russians inside and outside of Russia.
Donald Trump NEEDS an education as soon as possible. His statements are outrageous and hideously dangerous.
There is absolutely no way to know what the USA nuclear weapons look like. Donald Trump cannot possibly know what the USA nuclear capacity needs or doesn't need in the short period of time he has been President-Elect.
With this departure from sincere knowledge by Donald Trump and simply a statement of uninformed status of the USA, there is something far more disturbing than this statement alone.
My understanding is President Putin wants to increase it's nuclear arsenal in cooperation with the USA's increase capacity.
December 22, 2016
By Paul Mclear
In a year-end speech (click here) to his top military officers on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin threw down the gauntlet, declaring that the Russian military, emboldened by recent adventures in Syria and Ukraine, is ready to defeat any country that dares challenge it. “We can say with certainty: we are stronger now than any potential aggressor,” he proclaimed. “Anyone.”
He also made a pitch for bigger and badder nuclear weapons. Putin said Moscow must “strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces, especially with missile complexes that can reliably penetrate any existing and prospective missile defence systems.”...
This is about Ukraine. President Putin wants the USA to be a partner in securing and growing the war capacity of the nuclear Russia. This pandering to Trump and being his partner in facilitating the 2016 election is about replenishing Russia as a Superpower. President Putin is scared of Ukraine. He knows the capacity of that country and recent missile tests has Putin extremely insecure about his country.
Putin said something very odd, "If you elect Hillary Clinton there will be nuclear war, but, if you elect Donald Trump that won't happen." That won't happen because Putin fully expects Trump to be manageable.
President Putin is a foolish man. He believes increased nuclear capacity will solve Russia's problems with Ukraine. There cannot be a nuclear exchange across borders between the two countries. A nuclear exchange between Ukraine and Russia would destroy both countries.
President Putin and his own rebels in Crimea and at the border between Ukraine and Russia need to return to MINKS II.
The post Soviet states have been stating they believe President Putin wants to reclaim the Soviet Union. The would seem to be correct. There would be no other reason for Russia to escalate nuclear capacity. The USA is interested in non-proliferation and not increased danger to the world. When non-proliferation began the USA and Russia had incredible stockpiles that would destroy the entire population of the world many times over. It is unreasonable and foolish to return to that status.
Mr. Trump is going to have to receive a sincere briefing about Russia and Ukraine as soon as possible IF HE WILL. The tensions that exist between Russia and the post Soviet states are real and palpable. I have no doubt Russia would rather 'feel secure' by invading lands that were once the Soviet Union, but, it is highly imprudent.
Russia needs to stop being paranoid about the world in general. It's politics are horrible and highly nationalistic. Russia needs to return to treaties and peace priorities and not a return to war and nuclear proliferation.
During the "W" years, there was a refit to the USA nuclear capacity. That is not a return to proliferation. This demand for escalation of nuclear confrontation by Russia has to stop and peace agreements and non-proliferation returned to guarantee the lives of Russians inside and outside of Russia.
Donald Trump NEEDS an education as soon as possible. His statements are outrageous and hideously dangerous.
I hope the turning point in this civil war will now return humanitarian support to the people.
December 22, 2016
By Elliot Hannon
...Syrian state TV broadcast (click here) an army statement declaring the defeat of rebels there was part of a "strategic transformation and a turning point in the war on terrorism and a deadly blow to the terrorist project and its supporters.” Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said the victory was also one for Russia and Iran, whose air raids and militias helped boost the Syrian government and turn the tide in the besieged city.
Daesh is defeated. I am curious how al-Nursa is doing.
...Al-Nusra has, (click here) since 2012, been one of the largest and most influential groupings in the Syrian conflict....
It may be that rebels of all kind have been defeated. Al Nusra has been a law enforcement agent to the people that lived in Syria. It will be interesting what has occurred in Syria in relation to small militias such as al Nusra. I think Assad wanted to end the divisions in the country. It is a civil war.
“The rebel evacuations were set in motion last week after Syria's opposition agreed to surrender its last footholds in eastern Aleppo. Since then, some 35,000 fighters and civilians have been bussed out, according to the United Nations,” Agence France-Presse reports. “The departure of the last convoy paves the way for Assad to assume full control after more than four years of fighting over Syria's largest city. It marks his most significant victory since an uprising against his family's four-decade rule swept the country in 2011.”
“The arrival of thousands of refugees from Aleppo in Idlib aroused fears that the rebel-held city in northwestern Syria could be next,” according to Reuters. “Assad has said the war is far from over and his armed forces would march on other rebel areas.”...
What is Assad doing to secure Aleppo to prevent a return to fighting before moving on to Idlib? That has been the problem in Syria. The so called terrorist groups such as al Nusra were the law enforcement to communities across Syria. If the rebels are defeated and there is no power sharing agreement, where are the ground forces that will hold Aleppo to prevent the return to fighting and/or the return of crime.
Assad has to do more than kill with the assistance of Russia and Iran, he has to govern. What are his plans to return function to Aleppo so citizens can go home and begin rebuilding their markets and homes.
By Elliot Hannon
...Syrian state TV broadcast (click here) an army statement declaring the defeat of rebels there was part of a "strategic transformation and a turning point in the war on terrorism and a deadly blow to the terrorist project and its supporters.” Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said the victory was also one for Russia and Iran, whose air raids and militias helped boost the Syrian government and turn the tide in the besieged city.
Daesh is defeated. I am curious how al-Nursa is doing.
...Al-Nusra has, (click here) since 2012, been one of the largest and most influential groupings in the Syrian conflict....
It may be that rebels of all kind have been defeated. Al Nusra has been a law enforcement agent to the people that lived in Syria. It will be interesting what has occurred in Syria in relation to small militias such as al Nusra. I think Assad wanted to end the divisions in the country. It is a civil war.
“The rebel evacuations were set in motion last week after Syria's opposition agreed to surrender its last footholds in eastern Aleppo. Since then, some 35,000 fighters and civilians have been bussed out, according to the United Nations,” Agence France-Presse reports. “The departure of the last convoy paves the way for Assad to assume full control after more than four years of fighting over Syria's largest city. It marks his most significant victory since an uprising against his family's four-decade rule swept the country in 2011.”
“The arrival of thousands of refugees from Aleppo in Idlib aroused fears that the rebel-held city in northwestern Syria could be next,” according to Reuters. “Assad has said the war is far from over and his armed forces would march on other rebel areas.”...
What is Assad doing to secure Aleppo to prevent a return to fighting before moving on to Idlib? That has been the problem in Syria. The so called terrorist groups such as al Nusra were the law enforcement to communities across Syria. If the rebels are defeated and there is no power sharing agreement, where are the ground forces that will hold Aleppo to prevent the return to fighting and/or the return of crime.
Assad has to do more than kill with the assistance of Russia and Iran, he has to govern. What are his plans to return function to Aleppo so citizens can go home and begin rebuilding their markets and homes.
I am kind of wondering who Ms. Conway is meeting with to assume responsibilites in the White House.
Kellyanne Conway stated yesterday she knew Trump was going to win the end of October 2016. I believe her.
Ms. Conway went through a transformation with this presidential campaign. She left her anorexia appearance behind and instead decided to appear healthy. She realized she was at the center of something far bigger than she or even Trump and became serious about her image.
If one was paying attention she had a different posture at the end of October. Call it confidence or call it the realization of an achievement, but, her posture in public had changed and she was calm; far more calm than she expected.
However, tonight it seems obvious she needs to take her position in the White House more seriously and maybe she will, but, she needs to read newspapers on a regular basis and be informed about events important to the people of the USA. She needs to move past her right wing preferences and begin to realize she has a very important role with the Oval Office and should be relied upon to information the President of current concerns of the American people. That is usually reflected in their newspapers.
I am sure Donald Trump already reads newspapers, being a business man. The demands of the Oval Office is unique and requires expert opinion and not simply populous opinion. I am sure Kellyanne Conway will adapt to her new job as she did with her appearance of wellness in the campaign.
Ms. Conway went through a transformation with this presidential campaign. She left her anorexia appearance behind and instead decided to appear healthy. She realized she was at the center of something far bigger than she or even Trump and became serious about her image.
If one was paying attention she had a different posture at the end of October. Call it confidence or call it the realization of an achievement, but, her posture in public had changed and she was calm; far more calm than she expected.
However, tonight it seems obvious she needs to take her position in the White House more seriously and maybe she will, but, she needs to read newspapers on a regular basis and be informed about events important to the people of the USA. She needs to move past her right wing preferences and begin to realize she has a very important role with the Oval Office and should be relied upon to information the President of current concerns of the American people. That is usually reflected in their newspapers.
I am sure Donald Trump already reads newspapers, being a business man. The demands of the Oval Office is unique and requires expert opinion and not simply populous opinion. I am sure Kellyanne Conway will adapt to her new job as she did with her appearance of wellness in the campaign.
Unfortunately, nuclear weapons are still an issue. It should be, but, it is.
Allepo is finished. The rebels are gone as of today. Hopefully a balance will return and the humanitarian aid can be dispatched ASAP.
But, as to Ukraine. It was very dangerous at the time Russia broke the treaty with Ukraine. Chancellor Merkel was instrumental in de-escalating the situation. I remember her stating, "President Putin has been saying things that are outside the realm of reasonable in response to these circumstances."
That was a reference to nuclear weapons. Russia practices brinkmanship and in relation to Ukraine, Russia worries it will return to nuclear weapons. Ukraine, as a Soviet state, had the nuclear weapon launch sites for Russia due to it's proximity to Europe. The fall of Viktor Yanukovych (click here) was perceived as a profound threat to Russia. That is why President Putin was so willing to practice brinkmanship and possibly beyond. Annexing Crimea was about more then just protecting Russian people, it is about a strategy against Europe.
President Putin previous to the Ukraine revolution of 2014 (click here) used Ukraine as a political strategy. There was a reason for that. Putin, a former KGB, was worried about Ukraine and it's capacity as a global power. It is why the Ukraine national military was disarmed and Yanukovych placed militias throughout the country headed up by oligarchs. Russia is afraid Ukraine, especially, since there were missile trials by Ukraine.
But, as to nuclear weapons, they are still a concern. And. A problem as recently as 2014.
March 16, 2015
by Laura Smith-Spark, Alla Eshchenko and Emma Burrows
Moscow - Russia was ready (click here) to put its nuclear forces on alert over the crisis in Crimea last year, such was the threat to Russian people there, President Vladimir Putin said in a documentary that aired on state TV on Sunday night.
Asked if Russia was prepared to bring its nuclear weapons into play, Putin said: "We were ready to do it. I talked with colleagues and told them that this (Crimea) is our historic territory, Russian people live there, they are in danger, we cannot leave them.
"It wasn't us who committed a coup, it was the nationalists and people with extreme beliefs."
But this was the worst-case scenario, he added, in the documentary broadcast on state-run channel Rossiya One. "I don't think this was actually anyone's wish -- to turn it into a world conflict."
It wasn't known when the interview was originally taped. It aired even as speculation mounted about Putin's health, following an absence of several days from the public stage. He reappeared in public Monday.
Russia formally annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula last March, after Ukraine's pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted following street protests that turned bloody. Russia called his ouster a coup by radical Ukrainian nationalists.
Before Crimea was formally absorbed by Russia, unidentified armed men had taken control of its administrative buildings and key military sites. A referendum was held on March 16, 2014 -- a year ago to the day -- on secession from Ukraine....
But, as to Ukraine. It was very dangerous at the time Russia broke the treaty with Ukraine. Chancellor Merkel was instrumental in de-escalating the situation. I remember her stating, "President Putin has been saying things that are outside the realm of reasonable in response to these circumstances."
That was a reference to nuclear weapons. Russia practices brinkmanship and in relation to Ukraine, Russia worries it will return to nuclear weapons. Ukraine, as a Soviet state, had the nuclear weapon launch sites for Russia due to it's proximity to Europe. The fall of Viktor Yanukovych (click here) was perceived as a profound threat to Russia. That is why President Putin was so willing to practice brinkmanship and possibly beyond. Annexing Crimea was about more then just protecting Russian people, it is about a strategy against Europe.
President Putin previous to the Ukraine revolution of 2014 (click here) used Ukraine as a political strategy. There was a reason for that. Putin, a former KGB, was worried about Ukraine and it's capacity as a global power. It is why the Ukraine national military was disarmed and Yanukovych placed militias throughout the country headed up by oligarchs. Russia is afraid Ukraine, especially, since there were missile trials by Ukraine.
But, as to nuclear weapons, they are still a concern. And. A problem as recently as 2014.
March 16, 2015
by Laura Smith-Spark, Alla Eshchenko and Emma Burrows
Moscow - Russia was ready (click here) to put its nuclear forces on alert over the crisis in Crimea last year, such was the threat to Russian people there, President Vladimir Putin said in a documentary that aired on state TV on Sunday night.
Asked if Russia was prepared to bring its nuclear weapons into play, Putin said: "We were ready to do it. I talked with colleagues and told them that this (Crimea) is our historic territory, Russian people live there, they are in danger, we cannot leave them.
"It wasn't us who committed a coup, it was the nationalists and people with extreme beliefs."
But this was the worst-case scenario, he added, in the documentary broadcast on state-run channel Rossiya One. "I don't think this was actually anyone's wish -- to turn it into a world conflict."
It wasn't known when the interview was originally taped. It aired even as speculation mounted about Putin's health, following an absence of several days from the public stage. He reappeared in public Monday.
Russia formally annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula last March, after Ukraine's pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted following street protests that turned bloody. Russia called his ouster a coup by radical Ukrainian nationalists.
Before Crimea was formally absorbed by Russia, unidentified armed men had taken control of its administrative buildings and key military sites. A referendum was held on March 16, 2014 -- a year ago to the day -- on secession from Ukraine....
The House and Senate Committees on Intelligence has a special place in the USA during the administration transition.
Advisory: (click here) NSA Director Rogers to Testify in Open Senate Intelligence Committee Hearing This Week
The Trump administration that is taking shape does not reflect seasoned personnel in the dynamics since 2001.
The last time the USA experienced an attack on it's citizens was 2001. It was also an attack on the pentagon itself. September 11, 2001 was an attack on the USA brain trust more than any other segment of our countries.
During the September 11 attacks in 2001, there were 2,996 people killed and more than 6,000 others wounded. These immediate deaths included 265 on the four planes, 2,606 in the World Trade Center and in the surrounding area, and 125 at the Pentagon.
The House and Senate Intelligence Committees need to be seeking information they know results in the best information for the country. The transition will bring novices to the current risk environment, no matter their credentials.
I suggest if there is regression of expertise within the intelligence community to the USA the Committees speak out loudly to the American people. Americans have a right to be safe and to be educated to risks in their lives. I fully expect new appointees will try new strategies. That is probably the worst idea when it comes to protecting the American people.
When the incoming administration creates gaps in information the public needs to be addressed. What has occurred in recent years are better prepared cities. New York and now Boston have more intricate intelligence autonomous and blended with current federal infrastructure. That local investigative capacity should be viewed as a sincere continuity to protect local populations. New York City has it's own international agents.
I expect extremist policies that won't serve any purpose except spending monies for some kind of economic plan. I also expect less focus on White Supremacists. The committee members, if they are at all interested in the well being of the American people, should review non-government organizations that track dangerous organizations and people in this country, including those reviewing dangers to children as well as adults.
I don't have confidence in the people being nominated and/or appointed to protect this country.
The Trump administration that is taking shape does not reflect seasoned personnel in the dynamics since 2001.
The last time the USA experienced an attack on it's citizens was 2001. It was also an attack on the pentagon itself. September 11, 2001 was an attack on the USA brain trust more than any other segment of our countries.
During the September 11 attacks in 2001, there were 2,996 people killed and more than 6,000 others wounded. These immediate deaths included 265 on the four planes, 2,606 in the World Trade Center and in the surrounding area, and 125 at the Pentagon.
The House and Senate Intelligence Committees need to be seeking information they know results in the best information for the country. The transition will bring novices to the current risk environment, no matter their credentials.
I suggest if there is regression of expertise within the intelligence community to the USA the Committees speak out loudly to the American people. Americans have a right to be safe and to be educated to risks in their lives. I fully expect new appointees will try new strategies. That is probably the worst idea when it comes to protecting the American people.
When the incoming administration creates gaps in information the public needs to be addressed. What has occurred in recent years are better prepared cities. New York and now Boston have more intricate intelligence autonomous and blended with current federal infrastructure. That local investigative capacity should be viewed as a sincere continuity to protect local populations. New York City has it's own international agents.
I expect extremist policies that won't serve any purpose except spending monies for some kind of economic plan. I also expect less focus on White Supremacists. The committee members, if they are at all interested in the well being of the American people, should review non-government organizations that track dangerous organizations and people in this country, including those reviewing dangers to children as well as adults.
I don't have confidence in the people being nominated and/or appointed to protect this country.
The declaration by President Obama in defense of the waters of the USA is necessary.
The fisheries of the USA are under threat and the protected waters before this declaration are not enough to serve the people. Protections such as these will insure a safe margin for the future.
December 20, 2016
By Coral Davenport
President Obama (click here) announced on Tuesday what he called a permanent ban on offshore oil and gas drilling along wide areas of the Arctic and the Atlantic Seaboard as he tried to nail down an environmental legacy that cannot quickly be reversed by Donald J. Trump.
Mr. Obama invoked an obscure provision of a 1953 law, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which he said gives him the authority to act unilaterally. While some presidents have used that law to temporarily protect smaller portions of federal waters, Mr. Obama’s declaration of a permanent drilling ban on portions of the ocean floor from Virginia to Maine and along much of Alaska’s coast is breaking new ground. The declaration’s fate will almost certainly be decided by the federal courts.
“It’s never been done before,” said Patrick Parenteau, a professor of environmental law at Vermont Law School. “There is no case law on this. It’s uncharted waters.”...
Across the globe, especially the fisheries of the Pacific, there are threats to the quality and the quantity of fish in the oceans. The American people need a safety margin as a food source. This order by President Obama will insure that food source.
I thank him for finding a way to protect the USA waters, or should I say what are left of them, for the future generations of Americans. President Obama has dedicated himself and his administration to increase protections of the USA's natural world for the people of this country and their children. I think the tragedy of the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico caused him to assess the waters of this country and their potential to provide a food source.
The shellfish beds and the fisheries of the USA in the Gulf of Mexico have been tragically destroyed. There are vast areas of the USA's waters in the Gulf that are permanently damaged.
April 19, 2015
By Matt Smith
Tam Huynh (click here) hauls a blue crab trap over the side of his boat, shakes the catch out of it and tosses it back overboard. The results are disappointing.
"See, the crab like that, you can feel it's so skinny," he says, pressing on a spot just behind the spines that jut out of the crustacean's side. "It's got no meat.So Huynh (pronounced "Wynn") throws it over the side, where a small squadron of gulls and pelicans await. It was one of only three in his trap, one of about 300 he sets in the shallow waters of Mississippi Sound.
Huynh is one of the thousands of Vietnamese refugees who settled on the Gulf Coast for the fishing industry — but it's not much of a living these days. A few years ago, he was making upwards of $50,000 from the traps; now it's barely a quarter of that, he says. His wife works at a seafood processing plant onshore, but her hours are being cut back....
At the time of the Deepwater Horizon, Bligh Reef of Prince William Sound in Alaska (click here for audio of the grounding of the Exxon Valdez) where the Exxon Valdez ran aground on March 24, 1989 were still contaminated and exhibited far lower sea life than before the oil disaster.
The fact that waters contaminated with oil are difficult to recover demands protections where the waters exhibit productive fisheries. Below is only one of the continuing efforts in Prince William Sound to restore fisheries there. (click here)
Oil is a carbon based substance and organic in structure. When it is spilled in waters it creates long term problems. Pigeon Guillemots are shorebirds that once were innumerable in Prince William Sound.
President Obama is correct in protecting the waters of the Atlantic and Alaska. There are fisheries in these national waters that are still productive.
In the northwest USA, some of the estuaries are seeing shellfish diminish in production because of sea waters becoming acidic. The estuaries are where shellfish begin their lives, but, due to lower pH the young are not producing the hard shells that protect them from predation. The decline in those waters is felt by the fishing community.
President Obama is concerned about the national waters still producing fish and shellfish. The Atlantic Ocean shoreline of the USA beginning with the Chesapeake Bay and going north are vital to the people of the USA.
While each of the roughly 250 species of fish and shellfish (click here) in the Bay plays a unique role in the ecosystem, several species stand out for their ecological, historical, and/or commercial and recreational importance. These species include:...
Fish Watch (click here)
The USA's Pacific fisheries collapsed and are still recovering. So, with the west coast fisheries still closed and the Gulf Coast permanently damaged with a severe decline in commercial fishing there is every reason to thank President Obama for this level of vigilance of a vital food source for the USA.
April 12, 2016 (click here)
...According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) 2016 sardine assessment, the Pacific sardine population took a nose dive and dropped by roughly 90 percent between 2007 and 2016. In response to this crash, in April 2015 the federal Pacific Fishery Management Council voted to close the directed commercial fishery. This week, the Council voted to keep the fishery closed for another year....
Ocean Acidification of the USA Pacific Northwest fisheries has indisputable evidence of the reality and decline.
Prepared by Jan Newton and Terrie Klinger, University of Washington
A part of the problem with the Pacific fisheries of the USA is foreign vessel encroachment.
...The Coast Guard (click here) has four overall objectives in its living marine resources mission:
- To prevent illegal encroachment of the U.S. EEZ by foreign fishing vessels.
- To ensure compliance with U.S. laws and regulations. • To monitor compliance with international agreements.
- To develop viable enforcement schemes to support marine resource managemen t plans. Enforcement of the fishery management plans that protect and manage our fish stocks and marine mammals falls to the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Coast Guard. NMFS estimates 96 species of fish and shellfish are endangered or at risk in the EEZ....
The problems facing the fisheries of the USA are daunting, but, these new protections will assist in maintaining what is left. The protections will also increase the chance of the restoration of collapsed fisheries.
December 20, 2016
By Coral Davenport
President Obama (click here) announced on Tuesday what he called a permanent ban on offshore oil and gas drilling along wide areas of the Arctic and the Atlantic Seaboard as he tried to nail down an environmental legacy that cannot quickly be reversed by Donald J. Trump.
Mr. Obama invoked an obscure provision of a 1953 law, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which he said gives him the authority to act unilaterally. While some presidents have used that law to temporarily protect smaller portions of federal waters, Mr. Obama’s declaration of a permanent drilling ban on portions of the ocean floor from Virginia to Maine and along much of Alaska’s coast is breaking new ground. The declaration’s fate will almost certainly be decided by the federal courts.
“It’s never been done before,” said Patrick Parenteau, a professor of environmental law at Vermont Law School. “There is no case law on this. It’s uncharted waters.”...
Across the globe, especially the fisheries of the Pacific, there are threats to the quality and the quantity of fish in the oceans. The American people need a safety margin as a food source. This order by President Obama will insure that food source.
I thank him for finding a way to protect the USA waters, or should I say what are left of them, for the future generations of Americans. President Obama has dedicated himself and his administration to increase protections of the USA's natural world for the people of this country and their children. I think the tragedy of the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico caused him to assess the waters of this country and their potential to provide a food source.
The shellfish beds and the fisheries of the USA in the Gulf of Mexico have been tragically destroyed. There are vast areas of the USA's waters in the Gulf that are permanently damaged.
April 19, 2015
By Matt Smith
Tam Huynh (click here) hauls a blue crab trap over the side of his boat, shakes the catch out of it and tosses it back overboard. The results are disappointing.
"See, the crab like that, you can feel it's so skinny," he says, pressing on a spot just behind the spines that jut out of the crustacean's side. "It's got no meat.So Huynh (pronounced "Wynn") throws it over the side, where a small squadron of gulls and pelicans await. It was one of only three in his trap, one of about 300 he sets in the shallow waters of Mississippi Sound.
Huynh is one of the thousands of Vietnamese refugees who settled on the Gulf Coast for the fishing industry — but it's not much of a living these days. A few years ago, he was making upwards of $50,000 from the traps; now it's barely a quarter of that, he says. His wife works at a seafood processing plant onshore, but her hours are being cut back....
At the time of the Deepwater Horizon, Bligh Reef of Prince William Sound in Alaska (click here for audio of the grounding of the Exxon Valdez) where the Exxon Valdez ran aground on March 24, 1989 were still contaminated and exhibited far lower sea life than before the oil disaster.
The fact that waters contaminated with oil are difficult to recover demands protections where the waters exhibit productive fisheries. Below is only one of the continuing efforts in Prince William Sound to restore fisheries there. (click here)
Oil is a carbon based substance and organic in structure. When it is spilled in waters it creates long term problems. Pigeon Guillemots are shorebirds that once were innumerable in Prince William Sound.
In the northwest USA, some of the estuaries are seeing shellfish diminish in production because of sea waters becoming acidic. The estuaries are where shellfish begin their lives, but, due to lower pH the young are not producing the hard shells that protect them from predation. The decline in those waters is felt by the fishing community.
President Obama is concerned about the national waters still producing fish and shellfish. The Atlantic Ocean shoreline of the USA beginning with the Chesapeake Bay and going north are vital to the people of the USA.
While each of the roughly 250 species of fish and shellfish (click here) in the Bay plays a unique role in the ecosystem, several species stand out for their ecological, historical, and/or commercial and recreational importance. These species include:...
Fish Watch (click here)
The USA's Pacific fisheries collapsed and are still recovering. So, with the west coast fisheries still closed and the Gulf Coast permanently damaged with a severe decline in commercial fishing there is every reason to thank President Obama for this level of vigilance of a vital food source for the USA.
April 12, 2016 (click here)
...According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) 2016 sardine assessment, the Pacific sardine population took a nose dive and dropped by roughly 90 percent between 2007 and 2016. In response to this crash, in April 2015 the federal Pacific Fishery Management Council voted to close the directed commercial fishery. This week, the Council voted to keep the fishery closed for another year....
Ocean Acidification of the USA Pacific Northwest fisheries has indisputable evidence of the reality and decline.
Prepared by Jan Newton and Terrie Klinger, University of Washington
Our growing understanding (click here) of the causes and consequences of ocean acidification in local marine waters has been reported in the peer-reviewed scientific literature and summarized in the Scientific Summary of the Washington State Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification (hereafter, Scientific Summary) released in 2012. The purpose of this short communication is to clearly and succinctly present the current scientific understanding of ocean acidification in the Pacific Northwest based on evidence from the peer-reviewed scientific literature.
The scientific evidence for ocean acidification in the Pacific Northwest is compelling. This evidence consists of numerous scientific papers, published over a period of many years, representing contributions from multiple scientists at multiple institutions. The scientific evidence comes from investigations of the natural and anthropogenic biogeochemistry Pacific Northwest waters, organismal sensitivity to relevant biogeochemical conditions, physiological mechanisms that determine sensitivity, and successful adaptation of culture practices in hatcheries....
The evidence of the decline of the USA's fisheries is overwhelming. President Obama acted in the only way possible when considering all the evidence.A part of the problem with the Pacific fisheries of the USA is foreign vessel encroachment.
...The Coast Guard (click here) has four overall objectives in its living marine resources mission:
- To prevent illegal encroachment of the U.S. EEZ by foreign fishing vessels.
- To ensure compliance with U.S. laws and regulations. • To monitor compliance with international agreements.
- To develop viable enforcement schemes to support marine resource managemen t plans. Enforcement of the fishery management plans that protect and manage our fish stocks and marine mammals falls to the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Coast Guard. NMFS estimates 96 species of fish and shellfish are endangered or at risk in the EEZ....
The problems facing the fisheries of the USA are daunting, but, these new protections will assist in maintaining what is left. The protections will also increase the chance of the restoration of collapsed fisheries.
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Trump is stuck on old world expertise.
Flynn is going to have to prove to the country his statements are indeed fact. There won't be anymore "Cheney Faux Campaigns" to raise the fear in the people of the USA to facilitate war.
The Democratic leadership should develop STANDARDS to measure the accuracy of intelligence in the agencies. The very disruption by Comey needs to be addressed in a way that is adhered by the USA intelligence community. The USA President has the capacity to protect the country for 90 days while the Congress receives facts to determine the status of war.
The Congress cannot be deer in the headlights when these events occur. The Congress should set STANDARDS for intelligence that leads the country into assumptions war can be carried out.
The Presidency has become too powerful and now through OCO funds can carry out war indefinitely without the benefit of the War Powers Act. The Executive Branch is out of control. The Republican Congress has stepped aside in deciding the status of war of the USA. It is precedent now. That is dangerous and should never be tolerated or allowed by looking the other way. The reason the US Congress has stepped aside by funding war with OCO is because they could become unpopular and risk the next election that it might run through their fingers.
The Democratic leadership with their caucuses should set the STANDARD for the quality of intelligence. "W" and Cheney intimidated the CIA in order for the intelligence community to come into compliance with their demand for reasons to enter war in the Middle East. The INTIMIDATION came in the way of September 11, 2001.
November 13, 2015
By Chris Whipple
...By May of 2001, says Cofer Black, (click here) then chief of the CIA’s counterterrorism center, “it was very evident that we were going to be struck, we were gonna be struck hard and lots of Americans were going to die.” “There were real plots being manifested,” Cofer’s former boss, George Tenet, told me in his first interview in eight years. “The world felt like it was on the edge of eruption. In this time period of June and July, the threat continues to rise. Terrorists were disappearing [as if in hiding, in preparation for an attack]. Camps were closing. Threat reportings on the rise.” The crisis came to a head on July 10. The critical meeting that took place that day was first reported by Bob Woodward in 2006. Tenet also wrote about it in general terms in his 2007 memoir At the Center of the Storm....
The damn bastards in the "W" administration stated, "Who would ever think terrorists would be flying jumbo jets?"
In May 2001. MAY. 2001. The CIA counterterrorism center reported, “it was very evident that we were going to be struck, we were gonna be struck hard and lots of Americans were going to die.”
So the lies still live today that 'who would expect terrorists to fly jets?'
LIES.
LIES.
AND MORE LIES FOLLOWED TO TERRIFY THE AMERICAN PEOPLE IN TO BELIEVING THEIR PRESIDENT AND HIS HENCHMEN WERE INNOCENT OF COMPLETE AND ABSOLUTE NEGLIGENCE.
Iraq followed and was the enormous lie that the USA ever carried out. Iraq. The implosion of stability and the world is still paying for the USA lark into the country of Iraq. The void of power still exists today.
We now have another uncertain Executive Branch. An Executive Branch of extremists, questionable moral content and absolutely no sincere experience in protecting the USA.
Flynn is an extremist and panders to fear in his demeanor and character. He is incompetent to bring meaningful information to the intelligence community. The Democratic leadership needs to set STANDARDS of intelligence that can be respected. The STANDARDS have to be over and above the level it is now because the level that exists now can be exploited for faux threats, ie: Comey.
The Democratic leadership has to establish fool proof intelligence STANDARDS that can be a plank in the platform that will end faux threats that have previously instilled fear into the American people.
The War Powers Act have to be tightened up as well.
Rather than tolerating the side step of Congress, there should be a termination date on OCO funds when it is funding missions beyond 90 days. Those OCO funds should be terminated and absorbed into the Medicare program.
The Democratic leadership should develop STANDARDS to measure the accuracy of intelligence in the agencies. The very disruption by Comey needs to be addressed in a way that is adhered by the USA intelligence community. The USA President has the capacity to protect the country for 90 days while the Congress receives facts to determine the status of war.
The Congress cannot be deer in the headlights when these events occur. The Congress should set STANDARDS for intelligence that leads the country into assumptions war can be carried out.
The Presidency has become too powerful and now through OCO funds can carry out war indefinitely without the benefit of the War Powers Act. The Executive Branch is out of control. The Republican Congress has stepped aside in deciding the status of war of the USA. It is precedent now. That is dangerous and should never be tolerated or allowed by looking the other way. The reason the US Congress has stepped aside by funding war with OCO is because they could become unpopular and risk the next election that it might run through their fingers.
The Democratic leadership with their caucuses should set the STANDARD for the quality of intelligence. "W" and Cheney intimidated the CIA in order for the intelligence community to come into compliance with their demand for reasons to enter war in the Middle East. The INTIMIDATION came in the way of September 11, 2001.
November 13, 2015
By Chris Whipple
...By May of 2001, says Cofer Black, (click here) then chief of the CIA’s counterterrorism center, “it was very evident that we were going to be struck, we were gonna be struck hard and lots of Americans were going to die.” “There were real plots being manifested,” Cofer’s former boss, George Tenet, told me in his first interview in eight years. “The world felt like it was on the edge of eruption. In this time period of June and July, the threat continues to rise. Terrorists were disappearing [as if in hiding, in preparation for an attack]. Camps were closing. Threat reportings on the rise.” The crisis came to a head on July 10. The critical meeting that took place that day was first reported by Bob Woodward in 2006. Tenet also wrote about it in general terms in his 2007 memoir At the Center of the Storm....
The damn bastards in the "W" administration stated, "Who would ever think terrorists would be flying jumbo jets?"
In May 2001. MAY. 2001. The CIA counterterrorism center reported, “it was very evident that we were going to be struck, we were gonna be struck hard and lots of Americans were going to die.”
So the lies still live today that 'who would expect terrorists to fly jets?'
LIES.
LIES.
AND MORE LIES FOLLOWED TO TERRIFY THE AMERICAN PEOPLE IN TO BELIEVING THEIR PRESIDENT AND HIS HENCHMEN WERE INNOCENT OF COMPLETE AND ABSOLUTE NEGLIGENCE.
Iraq followed and was the enormous lie that the USA ever carried out. Iraq. The implosion of stability and the world is still paying for the USA lark into the country of Iraq. The void of power still exists today.
We now have another uncertain Executive Branch. An Executive Branch of extremists, questionable moral content and absolutely no sincere experience in protecting the USA.
Flynn is an extremist and panders to fear in his demeanor and character. He is incompetent to bring meaningful information to the intelligence community. The Democratic leadership needs to set STANDARDS of intelligence that can be respected. The STANDARDS have to be over and above the level it is now because the level that exists now can be exploited for faux threats, ie: Comey.
The Democratic leadership has to establish fool proof intelligence STANDARDS that can be a plank in the platform that will end faux threats that have previously instilled fear into the American people.
The War Powers Act have to be tightened up as well.
Rather than tolerating the side step of Congress, there should be a termination date on OCO funds when it is funding missions beyond 90 days. Those OCO funds should be terminated and absorbed into the Medicare program.
This is his memorial in Annapolis, Maryland.
If Ted Cruz (click here) wants to lobby to put Clarence Thomas in the Africn American Museum he needs to seek to place Thurgood Marshal there as well.
The African American Museum is about their history in this country. There is one picture of Thurgood Marshall in the museum.
Placing any article in a museum is a costly project. if Ted Cruz wants to have an exclusive place in the museum for African American Supreme Court Justices, he should organize a non-profit and raise money for obtaining artifacts and then developing the space in the museum.
Stop short changing the Justices by simply complaining; do something to make it happen that benefits the museum.
Ted Cruz should know the federal monies available to museums has been reduced over time.
This study was conducted in 2008, but, it is a good starting point for Senator Cruz.
I am proud (click here) to present Exhibiting Public Value: Government Funding for Museums in the United States, the first-ever comprehensive examination of the ways in which government at all levels support the museum sector....
Where is the lawsuit?
"Trump"s name is a known financial capacity. The name alone is marketable. Donald Trump sues everyone with a shadow of potential profit and/or defamation of the name Trump.
Where is the Trump lawsuit against "Opening Day 45?" Using persons names in any filing that has not joined the charity and/or consented to the use of their names is fraud. Where is the Justice Department?
Ohhhh, that's right, the charity removed the names so therefore it is not NECESSARY to prosecute. That is where we are in the USA. We do not litigate crimes, we accept retreating behavior as satisfactory to criminal activity. That is corruption itself. Why?
Because the scandal alone singles out this charity as one that had some kind of relationship with Trump's sons. So, if prosecution was carried out it would end this fraudulent practice.
The charity is receiving more members and donations today than a week ago. That is corruption. All a non-profit has to do is engage in a scandal and they attract people for support simply because it was receiving attention for the wrong reasons. "Opening Day 45" has violated the essence of charity by engaging in fraud. This is nonsense. An investigation and prosecution has to go forward to stop the practice of defrauding the public. There is no reason to stay within the boundaries of the law anymore.
December 21, 2016
By Allegra Kirkland
Facing scrutiny over questions of influence-peddling, (click here) Donald Trump’s eldest sons have distanced themselves from an inauguration weekend event hosted by a charity where they’re registered as directors.
Yet questions remain about how involved Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. were involved in organizing “Opening Day 45,” and whether they even still plan to attend.
An initial draft invitation obtained by TMZ highlighted some major perks for top-tier donors. Those who spent $250,000 or more would be able to meet with Trump, and those who donated $500,000 or more would receive a “multi-day hunting and/or fishing excursion” with Trump’s adult sons.
Those prizes, which offered remarkable access to the Trump family, have been stripped from a final version of the invitation released Tuesday and posted on a newly-created website for the event. Top donors will instead receive a private reception with “VIPs and celebrities associated with the event,” as well as a “multi-day outdoor excursion.”...
Where is the Trump lawsuit against "Opening Day 45?" Using persons names in any filing that has not joined the charity and/or consented to the use of their names is fraud. Where is the Justice Department?
Ohhhh, that's right, the charity removed the names so therefore it is not NECESSARY to prosecute. That is where we are in the USA. We do not litigate crimes, we accept retreating behavior as satisfactory to criminal activity. That is corruption itself. Why?
Because the scandal alone singles out this charity as one that had some kind of relationship with Trump's sons. So, if prosecution was carried out it would end this fraudulent practice.
The charity is receiving more members and donations today than a week ago. That is corruption. All a non-profit has to do is engage in a scandal and they attract people for support simply because it was receiving attention for the wrong reasons. "Opening Day 45" has violated the essence of charity by engaging in fraud. This is nonsense. An investigation and prosecution has to go forward to stop the practice of defrauding the public. There is no reason to stay within the boundaries of the law anymore.
December 21, 2016
By Allegra Kirkland
Facing scrutiny over questions of influence-peddling, (click here) Donald Trump’s eldest sons have distanced themselves from an inauguration weekend event hosted by a charity where they’re registered as directors.
Yet questions remain about how involved Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. were involved in organizing “Opening Day 45,” and whether they even still plan to attend.
An initial draft invitation obtained by TMZ highlighted some major perks for top-tier donors. Those who spent $250,000 or more would be able to meet with Trump, and those who donated $500,000 or more would receive a “multi-day hunting and/or fishing excursion” with Trump’s adult sons.
Those prizes, which offered remarkable access to the Trump family, have been stripped from a final version of the invitation released Tuesday and posted on a newly-created website for the event. Top donors will instead receive a private reception with “VIPs and celebrities associated with the event,” as well as a “multi-day outdoor excursion.”...
If there wasn't a truck into a holiday market in Europe, this story would never make the USA papers.
This is a fireworks factory. Terrorists? Are you kidding?
There is no report of a truck ramming the building. Where is the next major natural gas leak? Oh, silly me, the entire world of fracking is a major natural gas leak.
December 20, 2016
By the AP
A powerful chain-reaction explosion (click here) ripped through Mexico's best-known fireworks market on the northern outskirts of the capital Tuesday, killing at least 29 people, injuring scores more and sending a huge plume of charcoal-grey smoke billowing into the sky.
Video of the blast showed a dramatic staccato of rockets exploding in flashes of light, levelling the open-air San Pablito Market in Tultepec in Mexico State as it bustled with shoppers stocking up on fireworks to celebrate Christmas and New Year's.
Vendors' stands were reduced to piles of rubble, ash, and charred metal. It was the third devastating explosion and fire to ravage the market since 2005 and officials still have not said what caused this latest blast.
There is no report of a truck ramming the building. Where is the next major natural gas leak? Oh, silly me, the entire world of fracking is a major natural gas leak.
December 20, 2016
By the AP
A powerful chain-reaction explosion (click here) ripped through Mexico's best-known fireworks market on the northern outskirts of the capital Tuesday, killing at least 29 people, injuring scores more and sending a huge plume of charcoal-grey smoke billowing into the sky.
Video of the blast showed a dramatic staccato of rockets exploding in flashes of light, levelling the open-air San Pablito Market in Tultepec in Mexico State as it bustled with shoppers stocking up on fireworks to celebrate Christmas and New Year's.
Vendors' stands were reduced to piles of rubble, ash, and charred metal. It was the third devastating explosion and fire to ravage the market since 2005 and officials still have not said what caused this latest blast.
Crescencia Francisco Garcia said she was in the middle of the grid of stalls along with a few hundred others when the thunderous explosions began. She froze, reflexively looked up at the sky and then took off running through the smoke once she realized everyone was doing so. As she ran she saw people with burns and cuts, and lots of blood....
Who committed suicide?
Who committed suicide?
There is too much lassitude in the market to be confident about it.
Twenty five percent of the increase in the DOW after the election has to with the value of Goldman Sachs.
First explain what that is all about as it is directly related to the White House post election because it points to false confidence to INSIDER TRADING with all the Goldman Sachs appointees.
This is not the only article that speaks to this corruption. This fact Goldman Sachs is embedded into the Trump administration and the market reaction proves a very high level of corruption is expected. The markets don't care if people go to jail ultimately or that Goldman Sachs pays fines. The market only realizes the rise of stock and where in the bubble to exit for the maximum return on the money invested.
The increase in the market price for Goldman Sachs indicates two things;
- the market expects insider trading to increase value of Goldman Sachs
- the Goldman Sachs stock price is heavily dependent on government involvement
The Goldman Sachs stock is worthless without involvement in governments around the world. When looking at the structure of government anywhere there is a sure bet there is a Goldman Sachs employee, ? former employee ?, involved somewhere.
The wager is on the Goldman Sachs stock and not the stocks they invest in. Goldman Sachs model for investing is highly flawed. They make market predictions and stocks to buy and sell from day to day. The influence of Goldman Sachs is a faux confidence.
December 20, 2016
By Sam Sachs
Pesident-elect Donald Trump (click here) has yet to provide tangible assurances that he won’t use the presidency to boost his personal profits. Meanwhile, one major American bank, which doesn’t’ have to provide such assurances, is already cashing in “big league” on Trump’s win last month–an event followed by high-profile government appointments for executives of the firm.
Goldman Sachs over the past month.
The corruption is obvious and when Goldman Sach's stock is considered at the top of the bubble there will be just as many sales as purchases today. There goes the market again and there will be some lame excuse scapegoating the USA and it's citizens and the market needs a bailout.
Do you realize the numbers of morons involved in the Dow. This is gambling on inside information. It is pure speculation. Donald Trump's role in the Dow's profits is highly skeptical. The market sees Goldman Sachs inside the White House and invoking decisions, they don't see the highly turbulent "President Trump Stock." It is moronic and speaks to the lack of sincere insight in the markets. The markets have become dependent on free money and plenty of it.
The markets received an increase in Fed rates and now the markets are counting on corruption to turn profits. Do you realize how completely dysfunctional the markets are?
The Trump presidency is a parallel to the "W" presidency. "W"s presidency poured huge amounts of money into the construction sector. The national debt and deficit grew mercilessly during "W" in order create buoyancy and faux confidence.
There was a real reason for the crash of 2008. The investors of the markets these days are sheep to the corruption. The number of Goldman Sachs employees in the US government is inside influence and insider information. There is nothing else it can be called.
Trump is a fool for expertise. He reminds of the Chinese.
First explain what that is all about as it is directly related to the White House post election because it points to false confidence to INSIDER TRADING with all the Goldman Sachs appointees.
This is not the only article that speaks to this corruption. This fact Goldman Sachs is embedded into the Trump administration and the market reaction proves a very high level of corruption is expected. The markets don't care if people go to jail ultimately or that Goldman Sachs pays fines. The market only realizes the rise of stock and where in the bubble to exit for the maximum return on the money invested.
The increase in the market price for Goldman Sachs indicates two things;
- the market expects insider trading to increase value of Goldman Sachs
- the Goldman Sachs stock price is heavily dependent on government involvement
The Goldman Sachs stock is worthless without involvement in governments around the world. When looking at the structure of government anywhere there is a sure bet there is a Goldman Sachs employee, ? former employee ?, involved somewhere.
The wager is on the Goldman Sachs stock and not the stocks they invest in. Goldman Sachs model for investing is highly flawed. They make market predictions and stocks to buy and sell from day to day. The influence of Goldman Sachs is a faux confidence.
December 20, 2016
By Sam Sachs
Pesident-elect Donald Trump (click here) has yet to provide tangible assurances that he won’t use the presidency to boost his personal profits. Meanwhile, one major American bank, which doesn’t’ have to provide such assurances, is already cashing in “big league” on Trump’s win last month–an event followed by high-profile government appointments for executives of the firm.
Wall Street behemoth Goldman Sachs has seen its stock prices ascend by 33 percent since Election Day, and is responsible for the lion’s share of the gains on the Dow Jones Industrial Average over that time.
As The Hill noted on Tuesday, Goldman alone accounted for nearly a quarter of the 1,700 points the Dow has climbed since Trump’s election. The Dow is an index of stock prices from 30 major American companies.
Markets have reacted favorably to the ascendance of a billionaire real estate mogul and businessman to the White House. And Trump’s appointments of notable bankers, businessmen, and billionaires lent credence to the hopeful thinking coming from corporate America—particularly at Goldman....
Dow Jones over the past month.
Dow Jones over the past month.
Goldman Sachs over the past month.
The corruption is obvious and when Goldman Sach's stock is considered at the top of the bubble there will be just as many sales as purchases today. There goes the market again and there will be some lame excuse scapegoating the USA and it's citizens and the market needs a bailout.
Do you realize the numbers of morons involved in the Dow. This is gambling on inside information. It is pure speculation. Donald Trump's role in the Dow's profits is highly skeptical. The market sees Goldman Sachs inside the White House and invoking decisions, they don't see the highly turbulent "President Trump Stock." It is moronic and speaks to the lack of sincere insight in the markets. The markets have become dependent on free money and plenty of it.
The markets received an increase in Fed rates and now the markets are counting on corruption to turn profits. Do you realize how completely dysfunctional the markets are?
The Trump presidency is a parallel to the "W" presidency. "W"s presidency poured huge amounts of money into the construction sector. The national debt and deficit grew mercilessly during "W" in order create buoyancy and faux confidence.
There was a real reason for the crash of 2008. The investors of the markets these days are sheep to the corruption. The number of Goldman Sachs employees in the US government is inside influence and insider information. There is nothing else it can be called.
Trump is a fool for expertise. He reminds of the Chinese.
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
The Trump administration is an existential threat.
I think this entire administration is measurable and an existential threat. The USA can't fight the world and invokes many strategies to protect the American people.
Christmas Day of 1991 the Soviet flag no longer had a sovereign country to represent. That is a victory for the free world. No one wants to destroy Russia to simply destroy Russia, but, a weaker country is the goal of USA policies.
The equation is real simple, Russia promoted Trump into the White House with the help of Comey who cost Hillary Clinton over 4 percentage points in the matter of 4 days. Trump gets the Oval Office and places the CEO of Exxon in the Secretary of State position. The Secretary of State will facilitate oil exploration and profits at every corner of the globe, especially in the Russia waters of the Arctic Ocean. (I might point out Dutch Royal Shell already determined there is no measurable PROFIT drilling the Arctic Ocean.) But, the USA Secretary of State under Donald Trump will provide for new oil revenue (profit or loss it is still cash flow revenue) to Russia. That strengthens Russia for the first time in not quite a generation (20 years) since the dissolve of the Soviet Union. That is treason.
Donald Trump with every appointee announced is slowly but assuredly committing treason against the USA. The actual acts that are measurable just haven't occurred yet.
Donald Trump is providing new revenue to Russia after it assisted in electing him only to turn his back on NATO at the same time. If that isn't treason, then I don't know what is.
November 3, 2016
Christmas Day of 1991 the Soviet flag no longer had a sovereign country to represent. That is a victory for the free world. No one wants to destroy Russia to simply destroy Russia, but, a weaker country is the goal of USA policies.
The equation is real simple, Russia promoted Trump into the White House with the help of Comey who cost Hillary Clinton over 4 percentage points in the matter of 4 days. Trump gets the Oval Office and places the CEO of Exxon in the Secretary of State position. The Secretary of State will facilitate oil exploration and profits at every corner of the globe, especially in the Russia waters of the Arctic Ocean. (I might point out Dutch Royal Shell already determined there is no measurable PROFIT drilling the Arctic Ocean.) But, the USA Secretary of State under Donald Trump will provide for new oil revenue (profit or loss it is still cash flow revenue) to Russia. That strengthens Russia for the first time in not quite a generation (20 years) since the dissolve of the Soviet Union. That is treason.
Donald Trump with every appointee announced is slowly but assuredly committing treason against the USA. The actual acts that are measurable just haven't occurred yet.
Donald Trump is providing new revenue to Russia after it assisted in electing him only to turn his back on NATO at the same time. If that isn't treason, then I don't know what is.
November 3, 2016
By Charles M. Blow
There are only a handful of days until Election Day (click here) and an end to this phase of a nation’s — and the world’s — ebb and flow of anxiety. The day after the votes are cast and counted that anxiety will either dissipate or become a fixed feature. Which of these it will be is very much in flux.
While Hillary Clinton still maintains a lead in the polls and a built-in advantage on the electoral map, recent polls suggest that Donald Trump is closing the gap. There are now plausible — however improbable — electoral map routes to victory for him.
I leave it to others to make predictions about how all this will play out, but I feel that I must say again, and until the last minute and with my last breath: America, are you (expletive) kidding?!
I simply cannot wrap my head around how others with level heads and sound minds can even consider Trump for president of this country and leader of the free world. The logic simply escapes me....
The Republicans have an interesting sprinkling of right wing enthusiasts, even in it's leadership.
Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), (click here) the House majority whip, acknowledged Monday that he spoke at a gathering hosted by white nationalist leaders while serving as a state representative in 2002, thrusting a racial controversy into House Republican ranks days before the party assumes control of both congressional chambers. The 48-year-old Scalise, who ascended to the House GOP’s third-ranking post earlier this year, confirmed that he once appeared at a convention of the European-American Unity and Rights Organization. That organization, founded by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, has been called a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. “Beyond hosting a website, whitecivilrights.com, and staging an occasional conference, EURO is a paper tiger, serving primarily as a vehicle to publicize Duke’s writing and sell his books,” the SPLC writes on its Web site.
When Trump won the White House he needed to have experts that could carry the burden, so his choices are assured to be experts, but, also loyal to him and no one else. There is no one in government in their right minds that would want to be involved with the Trump experts.
Trump reached into the corruption barrel of monkeys and turned them loose as partners to right wingers waiting for the chance to rule the roost. He is overthrowing in the government. He calls it ideology. Is everyone going to actually wait until it is obvious before the investigation begins? I hope not because the 'character' of this administration is obvious and I am writing this now because it is so obvious. It would seem there are journalists calling the alarm, no different than Paul Revere.
The investigation needs to begin now.
December 20, 2016
By Matthew Rozsa
It appears that President-elect Donald Trump’s (click here) decision to appoint a conspiracy theorist as his national security adviser isn’t sitting well with many National Security Council staffers.
The Republicans have an interesting sprinkling of right wing enthusiasts, even in it's leadership.
Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), (click here) the House majority whip, acknowledged Monday that he spoke at a gathering hosted by white nationalist leaders while serving as a state representative in 2002, thrusting a racial controversy into House Republican ranks days before the party assumes control of both congressional chambers. The 48-year-old Scalise, who ascended to the House GOP’s third-ranking post earlier this year, confirmed that he once appeared at a convention of the European-American Unity and Rights Organization. That organization, founded by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, has been called a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. “Beyond hosting a website, whitecivilrights.com, and staging an occasional conference, EURO is a paper tiger, serving primarily as a vehicle to publicize Duke’s writing and sell his books,” the SPLC writes on its Web site.
When Trump won the White House he needed to have experts that could carry the burden, so his choices are assured to be experts, but, also loyal to him and no one else. There is no one in government in their right minds that would want to be involved with the Trump experts.
Trump reached into the corruption barrel of monkeys and turned them loose as partners to right wingers waiting for the chance to rule the roost. He is overthrowing in the government. He calls it ideology. Is everyone going to actually wait until it is obvious before the investigation begins? I hope not because the 'character' of this administration is obvious and I am writing this now because it is so obvious. It would seem there are journalists calling the alarm, no different than Paul Revere.
The investigation needs to begin now.
December 20, 2016
By Matthew Rozsa
It appears that President-elect Donald Trump’s (click here) decision to appoint a conspiracy theorist as his national security adviser isn’t sitting well with many National Security Council staffers.
A disproportionately high number of junior-level civil servants working for the NSC are considering leaving their jobs due to Trump’s selection of retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn as his national security adviser, according to a Sunday report in The Guardian. The British newspaper spoke with current and former NSC officials and pinned the number of potentially exiting staffers at roughly 400. As one official put it: “Career people are looking to get out and go back to their agencies and pressure is being put on them to get them to stay. There is concern there will be a half-empty NSC by the time the new administration arrives, which no one wants.”...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)