I wish crime would take a long vacation in Flint.

Bank robbery (click here)

Airport stabbing suspect now considered a terrorist (click here)

Good news at the university; rally for better pay and job security. (click here)

Flint Water Crisis

March 22, 2018
By Zahra Ahmad

Flint -- State officials (click here) say the third round of water sampling at Flint schools has been completed.

Test results from sampling conducted during the weekend of March 17 have not yet been analyzed, according to Department of Environmental Quality spokeswoman Tiffany Brown.

However, the DEQ said in a March 22 release that 96 percent of water samples collected from Flint Community Schools that have been analyzed are within the federal lead action level of 15 ppb. 

When the results are analyzed, the DEQ has said it will consider those and other water testing results before making recommendations for the state's role in Flint water going forward, including state-funded bottled water.

Testing began in Flint Community Schools in January....

This is getting a little silly. If these two deaths were isolated and there were no others, I'd entertain the idea CO-MORBITIES would have weighed heavier in the deaths, but, these are two of many.

This is the Mayo Clinic:

Legionnaires' disease (click here) is a severe form of pneumonia — lung inflammation usually caused by infection. Legionnaires' disease is caused by a bacterium known as legionella.

You can't catch legionnaires' disease from person-to-person contact. Instead, most people get legionnaires' disease from inhaling the bacteria. Older adults, smokers and people with weakened immune systems are particularly susceptible to legionnaires' disease.

The legionella bacterium also causes Pontiac fever, a milder illness resembling the flu. Separately or together, the two illnesses are sometimes called legionellosis. Pontiac fever usually clears on its own, but untreated legionnaires' disease can be fatal. Although prompt treatment with antibiotics usually cures legionnaires' disease, some people continue to experience problems after treatment....

I also believe there is just one person responsible for this tragedy and that is the Republican Governor Rick Snyder. He ordered the assignment of an emergency manager to Flint after his legislature changed the meaning of emergency manager.

More than likely Mr. Skidmore and Mr. Snyder had ailments before they contracted Legionella. But, the symptoms were made worse and life threatening when they were infected with the bacteria. This happens when older people are exposed to disease. It happens every year with the flu. It is always advised older Americans receive the flu vaccine every year to protect from serious illness and potential death.

The primary reason for death is not their ailments, but, Legionella bacteria causing an infection that killed them. The reason this is being discussed at all is because the wrong people are on trial.

March 23, 2018
By Ron Fonger

Flint -- A doctor (click here) says he believes two men who Flint water prosecutors say died from Legionnaires' disease actually died of other ailments and says the public shouldn't necessarily have been warned of outbreaks of the disease.

Dr. Jeffrey Band, former chief of infectious disease at Beaumont and a tenured faculty member at Oakland University, said he thinks Robert Skidmore died of progressive heart disease and John Snyder died from acute respiratory distress syndrome during the Flint water crisis.

Band's comments came during the 18th day of the preliminary examination of Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon, who faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and misconduct in office in Genesee District Court.

Witnesses have said previously that Skidmore and Snyder's deaths were at least partly related to Legionnaires' disease, and prosecutors claim Lyon bears responsibility for both deaths for failing to warn the public of outbreaks of the disease....

Why would anyone ever believe there was no ground for lawsuits about poisoned water?

March 19, 2018
By Lawrence Hurley

Washington - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday (click here) gave the green light to two class-action lawsuits filed by residents of Flint, Michigan who are pursing civil rights claims against local and state officials over lead contamination in the city’s water supply.....

Out spent $10 to $1. He won. He talked to people. "Humanity can prevail."

20 March 2018
By Barbara Bibbo

...United Nations officials (click here) condemned the continued arbitrary detention of Palestinian children by Israel saying the practice has become "systematic and widely spread".

A series of UN reports presented at the Human Rights Council shows how the living conditions of Palestinians across the West Bank and Gaza have dramatically worsened over the past year, and how children are bearing the brunt of the Israeli occupation, said Kate Gilmore, the UN deputy high commissioner for human rights.

"The past year saw hundreds of Palestinian children detained by Israel, some without charge under administrative detention," Gilmore said, addressing the council in Geneva on Tuesday.

"The impact of the conflict on the lives of children is entirely unacceptable. In this year alone, six children have been shot and killed in the context of protests."...

President Abbas needs to take some solace in knowing reporting agencies do care and try to bring about change for the Palestinian people and their children. 

Perhaps, the people of Palestine will be recognized as people and not simply people carrying knives. There are arrangements that can be made to bring humanitarian supplies to Gaza and the West Bank, the question is when will the Palestinians see relief? Never? Starvation is a human rights abuse in case some in the Middle East forgot that fact.

19 March 2018

...Introducing his second report, (click here) Mr. Lynk said it focused on the right to health.  He regretted that the Government of Israel continued to refuse cooperation with the Special Rapporteur.  His report addressed two themes, of which the first was the deteriorating human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.  He was deeply disturbed by the plight of the Palestinian children.  Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the deprivation of the liberty of a child had to be used as the last resort.  Yet the deprivation of liberty of Palestinian children by Israel was institutionalized, systematic and widely spread.  His second concern was Gaza, which was moving to a situation of calamity as a result of the comprehensive blockade imposed by Israel since 2007 on land, sea and air, which amounted to collective punishment.  Turning to the right to health, Mr. Lynk said Israel made many of the critical decisions affecting the disfiguring state of health in Gaza, which was on the verge of collapse.  An occupying power had the duty under international law to ensure that the right to health was fulfilled during the period of occupation, making Israel in profound breach of the right to health....

Libya hasn't made the news since Obama and Clinton left in 2017. Expect more of that.

22 March 2018
By Guma el-Gamaty

In a press conference held in Tunis on Monday 19 March, (click here) an official from the Libyan Popular Front party, Ayman Abu Ras, who claimed to be speaking on behalf of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, said that the 47-year-old son of the country's late dictator will run for president in the next Libyan election.

The following day, however, the Zintan militia that has been holding Saif al-Islam captive since 2011, the Abubakr al-Siddiq brigade, said on its official Facebook page that Saif al-Islam denied he had ever authorised anyone to make such a statement on his behalf....

Syria will be back as a "big deal." The fact of the matter is the Syrian Civil War is almost over. Nearly half a million people later, Assad has nearly reclaimed the country. I would not expect more fighting from any rebels. The fate of the refugees lies in the hands of the UN and hosting countries. The Sunnis now in refugee camps will not be allowed back into the country. If I am reading the tea leaves correctly.

Assad pulled off one of the greatest redistribution of a population in history. I don't believe even pre-history has seen such slaughter and displacement.

I expect the Shia Crescent to have been resolved to the singular countries of Syria, southern Iraq and Iran. If this is the reality, the Sunni countries may want to consider asking Shia if they want to immigrate to these lands. That leave the Houthis and Yemen. With Eric Prince in Yemen compliments of the UAE, the Houthis may also be called up as a displaced population and reapportioned back to Iran, southern Iraq and Syria.

Ah, yes, Israel and Palestine.

That is Bolton's favorite subject because it gets the public's attention. The facts are there are extremists in the Executive Branch and they are going to drown out any and all attempts at a Palestinian state.

...The Palestinians' absence (click here) from the White House meeting was a continuation of their boycott of the Trump administration, due to his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

A lot of people wonder about the American president. Tweets and comments about a range of issues suggests a lack of connection with what is politically conventional. The resignations and his firing of key aides indicates to some commentators that the man with minimum experience and knowledge about public policy is intent on surrounding himself with yes-people.

Saying yes to someone who does not know, and seems unstable in his expressions of the moment, isn't the way to run a world power....

The Trump administration can't seem to get the idea, unilateral talks aren't going to achieve any feasible to peace, but, what do I know, if Donald Trump says it happened, then it must be so.

The focus is always Gaza, because of Hamas, but interestingly enough is the fact the Palestinians of Gaza when survive rocket attacks and bulldozers, they do well.

...Two important measures of health indicate that Gaza is in better shape than many countries.

Life expectancy for women at 75.9 years and for men at 72.5 put Gaza above 87 countries in the case of women and 95 countries in the case of men.

Infant mortality in Gaza is 16.6 per 1,000 live births, which makes it better than 97 countries....

Other than Bolton's rhetoric, I wouldn't expect too much from the National Security Office. There is one thing I do expect though, silence on Russia and the 2018 elections, unless of course Putin decides to change American party affiliations more than he has before. Then the National Security Office will be all over Russia for interfering in the election and costing the Republican cronies, primarily the Kochs, more money than expected.

Bolton is laughable and a political appointee.

He is a FOX News adviser. Yes, still yet another one. But, beyond that he and Trump are perfect for each other, they are both big mouths.

Murdoch must be happy, his salaried employee list is getting shorter. Why not put them on the White House payroll and save some money.

Bolton is not a hawk, he is an extremist. His only tactic is to scream and yell, "The sky is falling."

He was never respected at the United Nations and he won't be anywhere else there is international involvement. All these folks will be ignored because they aren't in their positions to WORK, they are there to carry Republicans in 2018 elections. 

With that said, I remember when Bolton was at the UN as ambassador. They would give him a room all by himself to make a speech. No one came and no one listened. He won't derail the peace process on the Korean Peninsula because he doesn't matter. And where the General needed a Senate confirmation hearing because he was military, Bolton won't have that hurdle.

I would expect more scare tactics of the National Security Office. Do we still use the color spectrum for terrorist threat? Well, expect that to be a real 'thing' again. What else? Think of all the radically stupid things that occurred with "W" and wait for it...it will be back.

Here is a good excuse for Bolton as to why all the old terror alerts aren't used anymore, "Well, it is because there were generals in this job and they simply don't have the sensitivity for the public." 

March 23, 2018
By Jennifer Rubin

Following (click here) the “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything” adage, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) put out an effusive statement thanking outgoing national security adviser H.R. McMaster for his service: “General McMaster has served our nation incredibly well for 34 years, and I thank him for the work he has done in leading the National Security Council,” Corker wrote on Twitter. “It has been a privilege to work with him on some of the most pressing issues facing our country.”...

It is a very difficult thing to do, but, doing difficult things does change the way the world functions.

Countries should boycott the World Cup.

14 JUN 2018 - 18:00 Local time (click here)

GROUP A            Russia   vs.   Saudi Arabia

Luzhniki Stadium

Moscow

Moscow opened the club stadium of Spartacus, (click here) the opening-arena - a bright representative of modern architecture and technology in the sports infrastructure.

After 40 years of design and constructio, the metro station "Spartak."

For those that are attending and arriving by jet, prior notification to President Putin can result in a safe landing. I doubt the take off will be challenging, but, one never knows when it comes to Russian cities.

It is a very difficult thing to do, but, doing difficult things does change the way the world functions.

Countries should boycott the World Cup.

So you see it?

No, no, no; not the dark area that Russia demands to eliminated from this satellite. Do you see the tornado the size of a Mid-latitude vortex offshore USA?

There is basically no water populating the ITCZ, either.

March 21, 2018
1930.44z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of the North and West Hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)


The winds currently in Boston are between 22-27 mph and that is not with wind gusts. The wind is out of the north-northeast.

Current Temperature Map by Intellicast of the USA (click here).

The penetration of the Arctic Vortex is fairly clear where it exists over the USA. This is the fourth such storm to hit the east coast of the USA in three weeks. That is brutal for the people exposed to the chronic cold due to high winds.

In the top picture, the center of the mid-latitude vortex causing all the extreme weather is over southern Ohio. It can be seen in the temperature map of Ohio below and right. See the circulating vortex? 


Athens, Ohio is under the center of the vortex. The wind there is 3 to 11 mph out of the northwest. Consequently, due to lower wind speeds at the center, the temperatures are higher and in the 36 to 61 degrees Fahrenheit range.

Yes, while Boston is suffering in the 20s, the temperature in Athens, Ohio will increase as the center circulation is small and brings in warmer air from the west.

Yes, this is a heating planet and it is very odd in its manifestation to the public, but, it is real and it is dangerous.

Why is it cold? Because icefields normally rock solid are melting and giving off their "coldness" to the air rather than remaining with the water/ice.

Everyone knows when they are thirsty on a hot summer day the first thing they reach for is a cold drink, sometimes with ice in the drink to keep it cold. People also know as they sip the drink the ice melts. Sometimes it is not a big deal if the drink is slightly diluted with water, but, sometimes it is. At any rate, the ice does not stay ice when exposed to heat. The ice GIVES OFF COLDNESS and that is transferred, in this case, to the drink. In the case of Greenland, the COLDNESS is transferred to the air where it mixes with warmer air causing high winds and instability in the air masses; hence; a severely dangerous storm.

Climate Change Indicators: Sea Surface Temperatures (click here)

The air has been really warm with vortexes slapping it up against the ice that is Greenland. The air cools, but, at the cost of the ice.

Woods Hole, Massachusetts ocean temperature is 37.8 degrees Fahrenheit (click here). That temperature is above freezing and it will melt ice that touches the water. Albeit slowly, but, it will melt. The problem causing the climate crisis is that the ocean waters are warm and the cold temperatures are never cold enough to maintain ice structures of Earth. In different words, Earth is unable to compensate for the heat due to high levels of greenhouse gases. The other complication of such high density greenhouse gases is ocean acidification. That is happening as well.

14 March 2018

Excessive rates of carbon dioxide (click here) affect the health of key micro-organisms in the oceans, potentially undermining the base of critical marine food chains, according to new research by US scientists....

...Phytoplankton are not only a key food source for global fisheries, they are also important to the removal of CO2, much like how trees absorb the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.

In a paper published on Thursday in Nature, the team demonstrated how the microscopic plants require carbonate ions to acquire iron from the water to grow....

The above research has been conducted since 2004. It is consistent and duplicated year after year. The plankton are vital to Earth's oxygen and to the food web for fisheries. These are solid facts based in solid science by some of the best minds in the world. It is true.

June 7, 2004

...Robert Frouin, (click here) a research meteorologist with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, said understanding the process by which phytoplankton obtains ocean nutrients is important to understanding the link between the ocean and global climate....

As CO2 levels rise, the oceans have less carbonate, affecting phytoplankton's ability to secure sufficient nutrient iron for growth. In fact, the concentration of sea surface carbonate ions are on course to drop by half by the end of this century....

November 6, 2017
...Included in the new paper (click here) are some of the most detailed data yet on the depths of the canyons and fjords scarring the Greenland coast, which carry water in from the sea to lap against the ice. The results suggest that the western and northern regions of Greenland are most exposed to the influence of ocean water. Out of 139 ocean-touching glaciers the team identified, they also found that 67 rest in waters 200 meters (about 650 feet) or more below sea level, where warm water is typically found—at least twice as many as previously thought.

And, worryingly, the research suggests that as these glaciers melt and retreat backward, the shape of the seabed will continue to expose many of them to warm ocean water for hundreds of miles as the ice moves inland....

This is about "Terms and Conditions" people are REQUIRED to approve or don't participate in a social website.

Terms and Conditions are a set of rules and guidelines that a user must agree to in order to use your website or mobile app. It acts as a legal contract between you (the company) who has the website or mobile app and the user who access your website and mobile app.

According to the entry by Facebook's General Council Paul Grewal, there was nothing untoward about the usage of Cambridge Analytica.

March 16, 2018 (click here)

Update on March 17, 2018, 9:50 AM PT: The claim that this is a data breach is completely false. Aleksandr Kogan requested and gained access to information from users who chose to sign up to his app, and everyone involved gave their consent. People knowingly provided their information, no systems were infiltrated, and no passwords or sensitive pieces of information were stolen or hacked.

Originally published on March 16, 2018:We are suspending Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL), including their political data analytics firm, Cambridge Analytica, from Facebook. Given the public prominence of this organization, we want to take a moment to explain how we came to this decision and why....

When someone signs on to social media to participate with family, friends and perfect strangers there are terms and conditions required to participate. The Terms and Conditions on Facebook requires the member to give absolute power to Facebook of any or all the information posted to it's platform.

"Anything that has been digitized is not private and that is terrifying." Welcome to Facebook's ability to generate a profit. Did anyone thing for one minute their most intimate secrets, conversations and images would be confidential? NOT, LOL, LOL, LOL.

The question really is, "Did Facebook give permission to Cambridge Analytica to HARVEST every aspect of facts without the members knowing?" The issue is not Cambridge Analytica per se; it is Facebook and the understood relationship with members it normally treats as a MARKETABLE COMMODITY were sold for a political machine.

The difference between Facebook marketing their DEMOGRAPHICS of their membership to Wall Street for attempts to sell people stuff they would not otherwise think of buying and the sale of information to Cambridge Analytica; is the politics and potential hostile outcomes to elections where those politics are at play.

The issue is FAIRNESS and elections. If Facebook wants to market their membership demographics, should that demographic information be free and given to those that qualify as candidates and political parities?

The thing is this: Media MUST provide EQUAL TIME to all political parties. That is usually restricted to interviews or segments where one candidate has been able to communicate through media to the voters. This information in possession by Facebook, I believe, when used for political purposes should be DISCLOSED upon the use of the information, ie: Cambridge Analytica, when it becomes available to actual candidates and their parties.

Facebook is media. It just is. It collects and sells demographic information and who knows what else information for profit. Do the rights agreed to, because members have to in order to have access; provide complete and exclusive rights to Facebook to do absolutely anything it wishes including INFLUENCING the outcomes of elections.

I think not. The laws have always stated EQUAL access to media used for political purposes. The media is the media and Facebook is no different. So, when Facebook moved from providing demographics to Wall Street for marketing to politics the rules and ethnics are different.

Where Facebook LOSES the argument they own the rights to all the information to do with as it pleases ENDS where Facebook provides a CHOICE in showing information on their front page or restricting CERTAIN people from viewing it. If a Democrat's identity is limited to "Friends Only" doesn't that mean their politics have restrictions as well? I think the ACTUAL APPLICATION of the way members use Facebook creates a CLEAR UNDERSTANDING, the relationship is LIMITED.

Selling demographics for marketing purposes of goods and services can be done so by generalizing known data. But, marketing to Cambridge Analytica is very different. Cambridge was provided information to influence elections and Facebook was paid for it. I believe, Facebook's SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY in a democracy is to do everything possible to provide a fair and equal opportunity for any candidates when demographics are released FOR SALE or otherwise. I also believe if Facebook provided this service openly and equally to valid candidates and parties, it could deduct the value of VOLUNTEERISM. Assign a value to the parties and candidates and tax it off their taxes. They still pay taxes right?

In providing free information to candidates and parties, Facebook could demand limited use of the information from those receiving it to protect it's ability to turn a profit.

But, that is my take on this mess and it is always a mess. It is never clear because no one in a Wall Street company will do the ETHICAL thing so much as the GREEDY thing. It is the way it is. It is called Capitalism. In fact, it is not Capitalism at all, it is pure exploitation when ethics are disregarded. This didn't have to happen if Facebook practiced ethics in profit taking and placed the country before their profits.

     

Dare we say it is over.

Police discovered his identity and were hunting him down. Exceptionally good work.

He was an extremist. It is exceptionally sad such a young man would take on the ideology of murder and terror to support his beliefs and attempt to inspire others. He was too young to be this rigid in his beliefs.

It is one thing to carry far reaching beliefs about ideals, it is quite something else to refuse to live in a diverse society that has different ideals. He wanted power over lives and that is indescribably unfortunate. 

March 21, 2018

The suspected (click here) Austin bomber described himself as a conservative and argued against same-sex marriage and abortion in a blog he maintained for a government class.

Austin - The suspected Austin bomber (click here) is dead after detonating a bomb inside a car on Interstate 35 and after a SWAT officer fired at him, Austin Police Department Chief Brian Manley said. The bomber's name is Mark Anthony Conditt, 23.

"This is the culmination of three very long weeks in our community," Manley said....

...Officials filed a federal criminal complaint and arrest warrant against Conditt Tuesday night, charging him with one count of Unlawful Possession and Transfer of a Destructive Device. The complaint affidavit is sealed at this time....

Officials (click here) investigated near a vehicle (center) where the suspect in a series of bombing attacks blew himself up early Wednesday.

It takes acts of conscience to bring about civil discourse.

Geneva, March 20, 2018 – UN and regional human rights experts* (click here) have urged States, civil society organisations and activists to step up their efforts to stem the alarming rise in racism and xenophobia worldwide, citing concerns about the impact of populist nationalism on mainstream politics.

“Vile discourses of explicit hate and ideologies of racial supremacy have moved from the fringe to the mainstream,” the experts said in a joint statement** ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination celebrated on 21 March....

Is the USA winning the fight against racism?

What impressed me about this case is there was no formal complaint. The LAW students were mixing it up online and saying some horrible things. They were found to be carrying on and the university would not tolerate their students racism. There is also a question of rape.

No lawyers or prosecutors brought this case forward, just some administrators at a university that had a conscience and the will to bring justice to injustice.

March 20, 2018

A group of law students (click here) have been suspended from the University of Exeter over allegations of racism.

It comes after "vile" comments made by members of a law society on WhatsApp were revealed by a student and shared more than 2,000 times on Facebook.

Police have been informed and "full disciplinary action will be taken as appropriate," the university said.

One student has had a job offer withdrawn by a law firm who said they are "deeply disturbed by the messages".

The WhatsApp messages, screenshots of which are included below, were branded "sickening" and "disgusting" by fellow students.

More Devon stories here

One of the students issued a "sincere apology for his inexcusable comments", saying: "I will not attempt to excuse and deny any of the statements I have made. The comments, which I shall not repeat, are inexcusable and undeniably wrong.

"I would like to make it publicly known that I do not honestly believe any of the things I have said."

The university said it "does not tolerate any form of racist behaviour"....

It didn't stop there:

March 20, 2018

Yesterday, (click here) The Tab revealed Exeter law students' horrifying racism in a group chat. So far they've been suspended from uni, and some have lost their prestigious training contracts at law firms.

Since September we've called out students at Nottingham Trent chanting "we hate the blacks" outside a black student's door.

We've exposed the racism of a Sheffield student comparing Black Lives Matter to Planet of the Apes, and Bournemouth students calling a black woman a "big black ape".

That's without mentioning the countless incidences of people blacking up, but insisting it's not racist.

We're committed to listening to, investigating, and exposing experiences of racial discrimination suffered by students at university....

These are good and decent people in awareness of wrong doing with the conscience to do something about it. The university administrators took it further and made it all the students' business to end any type of racism known to exist on their campus.

UNFORTUNATELY, this is not USA.

In the USA, every aspect of hate is exaggerated into a political dialogue and it is destroying this country. With the issue at University of Exeter there was no political question attached in an odd way to funding. The racism was wrong and there would be consequences for it. 

March 19, 2018
By Jeff Adelson

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, (click here)  in an interview with Trevor Noah on "The Daily Show" Monday night, said a broad discussion on race is necessary to stop the issue from being used by demagogues to divide the country.

An extended version of the interview posted on Comedy Central’s website includes sections where Noah and Landrieu discuss the dangers of a rise in appeals to racism.

“In America one of the great political successes has been turning working-class white people and working-class black people against each other on the issue of race and not talking about how economically we can work together,” Landrieu said. “So we have to work through that.”

The "Daily Show" interview is the latest stop in a national media tour supporting Landrieu’s new book, “In the Shadow of Statues: A White Southerner Confronts History,” which hits stores on Tuesday.

Landrieu has already discussed the book on ABC’s "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," appeared on "60 Minutes" to talk about the Confederate statues he had removed, and is slated to be on "Real Time with Bill Maher" later this week....

We have bombs going off in the USA and two people are dead and others struggling to heal their wounds. There is no rush of conscience to end the hate before it gets started. This level of fear and hate should never exist in the USA, but, it does and everyone needs to ask why.

There is a conscience at FOX. Thank you, Colonel Peters.

Murdoch should terminate contracts and fire the lot. The FCC should be reviewing licenses as well. I wish the Colonel well.

March 20, 2018

By Michael M. Grynbaum

...“In my view, (click here) Fox has degenerated from providing a legitimate and much-needed outlet for conservative voices to a mere propaganda machine for a destructive and ethically ruinous administration,” Colonel Peters wrote in his message, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times.

“Over my decade with Fox, I long was proud of the association,” he added. “Now I am ashamed.”...  

Cambridge Analytica marketed their ability to hack into Facebook and sell the data. This was no Oops at all.

21 March 2018

By Adam Taylor

...But Cambridge Analytica (click here) may be an issue not only for Americans and Britons. The firm claims to have worked in a wide range of countries, including Australia, Brazil, Kenya, Malaysia and Mexico, and politicians in several of them are calling for investigations of the company's work.

That list comes directly from the company's representatives, who were recently filmed by an undercover reporter from Britain's Channel 4 News. The journalist presented himself as a potential client, a representative of a wealthy Sri Lankan family eager to increase its political influence. During meetings over four months, Cambridge Analytica employees touted their work worldwide....

If a legal agreement is adverse to Ms. McDougal's life, she should have the opportunity to rescind it.

For women, there is always safety in numbers. Ms. Clifford is giving others the strength to come forward. Just filing the lawsuit and letting the public know such underhanded tactics are all part of their experience with Trump is nearly good enough.

21 March 2018

...Karen McDougal (click here) filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against American Media, publisher of the National Enquirer, which paid her US$150,000 in 2016 to keep quiet on the matter, according to a copy of the lawsuit provided by her lawyer, Peter Stris....

...The New Yorker article noted that American Media head David Pecker has described Trump as a "personal friend".

"AMI lied to me, made empty promises, and repeatedly intimidated and manipulated me," McDougal, who was Playboy magazine's 1998 Playmate of the Year, said in a statement today.

"I just want the opportunity to set the record straight and move on with my life, free from this company, its executives, and its lawyers."

Adult film actress Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, sued the President on March 6, stating that Trump never signed an agreement for her to keep her quiet about an "intimate" extramarital relationship between them....

21 March 2018

Former US President Obama heads off to golf course with Former Prime Minister John Key (click here for live coverage).

Barack Obama has landed at Kauri Cliffs, near Matauri Bay in the Far North for a round of golf.

Obama landed in New Zealand early this morning and our own former Prime Minister, John Key, and his family flew north for a golfing rendezvous with the former president.

New Zealand was hit by a terrible Pacific cyclone, but, it was the worst in the South Island. (click here)

The only conspiracy here is the Murdoch conspiracy or reeking havoc with democracy.

What Donald Trump and FOX News advocate as a "Deep State" is called routine work by most government employees.

Trump needs to think about leaving. If he does not have the character strength to even stay on task long enough for an interview with Former Director Mueller he doesn't have the character strength for much in life; which is why he needs so many lawyers at any point in his life. It is ridiculous to realize the costs surmounted by the RNC because of his temperament or should I say lack of it.

A democratic government is ORGANIZED around function and not dysfunction. The federal government has to operate in order to bring about national security at the very least. No one in the federal government should be sitting on their hands waiting for word from the emperor.

That is the problem with Trump's administration. He believes he can only trust his family and there isn't enough of them to go around to make the government function. They don't have the understanding and/or ability to handle this level of responsibility and not feel threatened by the need for control. There is not a possible outcome within that administration except more and more dysfunction.

It is convenient for Trump to have FOX News at his beckon call. It provides him with plenty of media cover regardless of the lousy administration that exists.

I have a question for FOX News, does Trump's shit stink?

I just thought maybe one level of reality and truth could spark some real reformation at FOX news.

Ted Kaczynski had a manifesto. He wasn't territorial though. He also didn't live in a city where people could notice his activity as odd in some way. He secluded himself in a way only his family would have any information about his hate. I suppose he could be considered territorial in that he coveted corporate executives. If I recall it correctly.

It makes sense there is a number of FBI agents because it hits at the heart of the USA economy. So, this is a major concern. I suppose there is a bit of an economic focus, but, if the police believe it is racial, then it says a lot about the bomber.

The diagram of the location of the bombs forms a right triangle, so the bomber had scoped out his/her targets. The targets don't appear random. Also there is a repeating number in the dates of the explosion. The number two.

They all have occurred in the month of March and the number 3 is understood, but, the day of the explosions are 02, 12 and now today 20. If the explosion in the FedEx facility was planned it would be 20, but, if the destination was the place the bomb was to explode it may or may not be 20 or 21. There were also two bombs on the 12th. Computers can run on a binomial basis, if that means anything. Usually, that is the numbers 0 and 1. I think a computer with AI might be able to synthesize a potential pattern and/or identity.

This is probably affiliated with the death of a police officer and/or the death of a African American. As an example:

January 26, 2018

7:40 a.m.update: A man (click here) who broke into a Central Austin home early Friday morning was killed by police after shooting at two officers who confronted him, authorities said.

When the suspect, described as a white man, entered the home in the 4500 block of Avenue G, the residents hid in a closet and called 911 around 3:40 a.m.

Officials said two officers arrived and announced themselves to the suspect, who then shot at the officers. One of the officers returned fire, killing the man at the scene, Assistant Chief of Police Troy Gay said....

There is also a map with this report, so this must be a methodology of the crime reporting community. That method may or may not be part of the strategy to terrify the community as well as kill what are believed to be innocent people. The backgrounds of the people targeted might prove a pattern as well.

One other thing about the numbers, is that when a date is reliable in producing violence, there will be higher fear quotients that can be affiliated with that. The public will begin to recognize the pattern and anticipate that explosion. That could be used as a public strategy to avoid packages on those days. Then with a pattern realized, the bomber could simply change the pattern and cause greater terror. I tend to think the dates are less important than the identity of the victims or intended victims.

I doubt any of this is new thinking for the police or FBI, but, why assume anything in an investigation.

I am sorry to hear this is happening to Austin. I have the greatest sympathies for the victims, intended victims, their families and friends. The city is a good city and the problems it faces are not very different than other cities.

If this is racially based it could be an effort greater than one person. Every American wants their cities to be safe and happy places for it's citizens. We all struggle with the racial problems the USA exhibits. It is not fair and it is not unique. Racial issues have been a problem throughout the world, otherwise, there would be no Robben Island. That is not an excuse, but, it is a reality.

I know the fear that lives in every African American man's heart and it effects their life. That is not a minor problem. Fear raises stress and can result in health problems. Fear of one being a target in society brings an entirely odd family dynamics. The USA needs to resolve it's racist problems, that includes ending the hate of White Supremacy.

I hope law enforcement will solve this swiftly, but, when it comes to these type of issues, it can be a longer timeline. I wish everyone safety and peace during this difficult time.