Listening to some of the interviews today with Republican Senators it was obvious to me they don't know the facts or simply don't care about them.
The simply don't care about them crowd is using rhetoric and not facts. In not caring about them crowd needs a strong Democrat to run against them when their term is due to expire. They don't care about the USA Constitution if they don't care about the wrongdoings of the president, either.
But, for the folks laughing this off as "Trump loves baiting the press," they don't know all the facts either. The facts will be in the "Articles of Impeachment."
Some people are calling Trump's extortion of Ukraine a complete government shakedown and some are calling it a scandal while yet others are calling it a misunderstanding.
This is not a scandal or a misunderstanding, the president broke the law. Just that simple.
The "Articles of Impeachment" are argued by a group of US House members called "Managers." The Democrats need to include in the impeachment document a reply to Trump's lies because they will come up in the US Senate trial. A good example of a lie are his claims no other country contributes to the efforts in Ukraine. That is a blatant lie and the proof of so will no doubt be demanded by the US Senate in the trial. I would expect every one of Trump's lies to be brought up in defense of him in the trial.
Before the trial starts the entire US Senate has affirmed or taken an oath at the opening of the proceedings. Basically, they are sworn in to be engaged in a way that honors the truth. Let's hope each Senator will conduct themselves with all due diligence and honesty. The USA Supreme Court Chief Justice presides over the trial. The process of the trial is frequently equated to that of a Grand Jury.
I do not accept the idea this is nothing but 100% politics. This is a serious investigation for fact finding to bring about the removal of a president. Facts are not political, they are the basis of a trial. Political issues sometimes don't have facts but simply ideology. This process is not about ideology either. It is not a scandal, a misunderstanding or ideological politics; this is a serious process to remove the president from office, because he broke the law.
The president or the US Senate may have not worked to release the entire amount of military spending to Ukraine which may be the reason investigations are being conducted yet again regarding the USA elections and The Bidens.
This is from Defense News:
September 12, 2019
By Joe Gould
Washington - The White House (click here) has relinquished its hold on $250 million in military aid to Ukraine after weeks of bipartisan pressure from lawmakers who said the funding was needed to deter Russia.
Republicans and Democratic members of the Senate Appropriations Committee said Thursday the administration had relented late Wednesday. The news emerged in a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on fiscal 2020 defense spending.
President Donald Trump’s initial hold angered some lawmakers who are typically his allies, including South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who chairs the Senate subcommittee that covers State Department spending.
“I will be the strongest voice here if they don’t timely release the [2020 military aid],” Graham said....
September 25, 2019
By Joe Gould and Howard Altman
Washington ― At the center of the latest scandal (click here) threatening to take down President Donald Trump is $391 million in military aid that the U.S. leader reportedly asked his staff to freeze for two months before dropping the hold a week ago, under pressure from lawmakers....
...In June, the Pentagon announced plans to provide $250 million to Ukraine in security cooperation funds for additional training, equipment and advisory efforts to build the capacity of Ukraine’s armed forces. The U.S. State Department separately planned to provide $141 million in aid....
...The U.S. has committed more than $1.5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since 2014, when Russian-backed separatists began driving tanks through eastern Ukraine. The latest equipment was largely more of the same aid the U.S. previously supplied, aimed at helping Ukraine monitor and secure its borders, deploy its forces more safely and effectively, and make progress toward NATO interoperability....
What was that number? $1.5 billion since 2014. I guess President Obama did his part, too.
...The Defense Department’s tranche was set to include sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, counter-artillery radars, electronic warfare detection and secure communications, night vision equipment, and military medical supplies and treatment. The department previously included counter-sniper equipment, Humvees and tactical drones as well.
The State Department funding included $115 million for a broad array of purposes, to buy American-produced weapons through the Foreign Military Financing program, but also to provide advisers and training to boost Ukraine’s NATO interoperability: English language labs, medical equipment and improvised bomb simulators. The funds could also pay for spare parts, sustainment and training for previously purchased U.S. gear....
Below, the "Military Times" discusses impeachment. It draws attention to five freshmen US House Representatives whom all have military experience. No one, not even Trump, can say the Democrats are playing to their extreme left.
September 25, 2019
By Leo Shane III and Joe Gould
A coalition of national security Democrats, (click here) including five freshmen with military experience, on Tuesday blasted President Donald Trump’s alleged political dealings with Ukraine as a potential “impeachable offense” and joined their House colleagues in demanding the White House provide public answers on the scandal.
In a Washington Post opinion piece Monday night, the group — all of whom represent districts Democrats flipped in the last mid-term election — called the latest accusations stunning and a significant national security threat.
Trump on Sunday seemed to acknowledged that, during a recent phone conversation, he urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to look into links between corruption in that country and Hunter Biden, the son of former vice president and current Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden....
The White House never discussed the delay in aid to Ukraine and were diligently trying to find out what the problem could be. Why would anyone from the White House discuss the hold on Ukraine's aid, it was illegal.
September 30, 2019
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill (click here) couldn't figure out over this past summer why nearly $400 million in aid they'd voted to go to Ukraine still wasn't in the country's coffers.
There was growing speculation by the end of August. Congressional leaders, their aides and members of key committees -- including the Appropriations, Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees -- were scrambling to figure out why money that had been appropriated by Congress months before still hadn't been disbursed. Outreach by lawmakers to key agencies left few clues other than the delay was coming from the White House and no one could pinpoint exactly what the reason was....
Corruption was never a deterrent to Ukrainian aid before.
October 5, 2019
By Kathy Gilsinan
...After Barack Obama left, (click here) Trump announced, and Congress approved, a plan to provide anti-tank missiles as well, something both military and diplomatic officials had recommended. Joseph Dunford, then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in congressional testimony in the fall of 2017 that “Ukraine needed additional capabilities to protect their sovereignty” from Russia, which was supporting an insurgency in the eastern half of the country and had already seized the Crimean Peninsula. To the extent corruption was a concern at the time, it did not take precedence over the determination to try to stop Russian tanks....
I found the article cited by "The Atlantic" (click here) more than interesting. This is from that same story.
“The U.S. rarely gives [security assistance] to Switzerland or Canada because they don’t need it; the states that need it are rarely governed as effectively as Switzerland or Canada.”
I am ending it here tonight because I am traveling tomorrow and need sleep beforehand.
Until later.
Sunday, October 06, 2019
The USA is not exempt from it's own homegrown corruption infused by Russia.
"Moscow Mitch" is at it again. He has no loyalty to the USA Constitution and is in violation of his oath of office. Trump and his loyalists, including Secretary Munchkin, hack away at the Russian sanctions in every way possible.
Putin's money clad corruption is still alive and well in the USA and it includes the US Senate Majority Leader.
October 5, 2019
By Billy Kobin
Earlier this week, (click here) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said his chamber would have "no choice" but to hold a trial on whether to remove President Donald Trump from office if the House votes to impeach.
But in a new campaign ad on Facebook, the Kentucky Republican claims that any impeachment attempt will fail as long as he remains in charge of the Senate.
"Nancy Pelosi's in the clutches of a left-wing mob. They finally convinced her to impeach the president," McConnell says directly to the camera in a 17-second video. "All of you know your Constitution. The way that impeachment stops is a Senate majority with me as majority leader.
"But I need your help," he adds, standing in front of a picture of an elephant. "Please contribute before the deadline."
The McConnell campaign, according to Facebook's "Ad Library," started running the digital ad last week, a few days after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced an impeachment inquiry over whether Trump improperly pressured Ukraine's president to investigate political rival and possible 2020 opponent Joe Biden....
Putin's money clad corruption is still alive and well in the USA and it includes the US Senate Majority Leader.
October 5, 2019
By Billy Kobin
Earlier this week, (click here) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said his chamber would have "no choice" but to hold a trial on whether to remove President Donald Trump from office if the House votes to impeach.
But in a new campaign ad on Facebook, the Kentucky Republican claims that any impeachment attempt will fail as long as he remains in charge of the Senate.
"Nancy Pelosi's in the clutches of a left-wing mob. They finally convinced her to impeach the president," McConnell says directly to the camera in a 17-second video. "All of you know your Constitution. The way that impeachment stops is a Senate majority with me as majority leader.
"But I need your help," he adds, standing in front of a picture of an elephant. "Please contribute before the deadline."
The McConnell campaign, according to Facebook's "Ad Library," started running the digital ad last week, a few days after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced an impeachment inquiry over whether Trump improperly pressured Ukraine's president to investigate political rival and possible 2020 opponent Joe Biden....
Shokin
There were a number of reasons the people of Ukraine, the EU, the International Monetary Fund and the USA were against the work of Viktor Shokin and why he was replaced.
Besides the war at the eastern border of Ukraine, the primary problem President Poroshenko faced was eradicating corruption within it's sovereign borders. All one has to do is realize that the previous president, Yanukovych, and his activities were to know the corruption was rampant. The national military was disarmed and the Oligarchies throughout the country were provided weapons and uniforms to form their own militias. The Oligarchs under Yanukovych were the organizers of the economy, so everything went through them. Replacing that organization and rearming of the national military while disarming the militias didn't happen overnight.
While seeking to strengthen the domestic economy and government infrastructure the IMF lead the charge against corruption in Ukraine. When it was obvious that wasn't going to occur, Shokin was viewed as the cause.
13 February 2015
“The nomination of Shokin is a shock” (click here) – shouted the participants of the manifestation in front of the Ukrainian Embassy in Warsaw. Ukrainians, Kazakhs and Warsaw residents gathered in front of the building and protested against the most recent changes in the Prosecutor General’s Office in Ukraine and the nomination of Victor Shokin to head the prosecutor’s office.
Representatives of the Open Dialog Foundation, which organised the protest, were drawing the attention of passers-by and the media present on location, to the attempts by the Prosecutor’s Office to protect and cover for the people responsible for the massacre on Maidan. An appeal was also filed with the Ambassador and addressed to the Ukrainian President, the Prime Minister and MPs, in which Shokin’s nomination was heavily criticised.
From the Irish Times
March 29, 2016
By Daniel McLaughlin
The European Union (click here) has welcomed the dismissal of Ukraine’s scandal-ridden prosecutor general and called for a crackdown on corruption, even as the country’s political crisis deepened over efforts to form a new ruling coalition and appoint a new prime minister.
Ukraine’s parliament voted overwhelmingly to fire Viktor Shokin, ridding the beleaguered prosecutor’s office of a figure who is accused of blocking major cases against allies and influential figures and stymying moves to root out graft.
“This decision creates an opportunity to make a fresh start in the prosecutor general’s office. I hope that the new prosecutor general will ensure that [his] office . . . becomes independent from political influence and pressure and enjoys public trust,” said Jan Tombinski, the EU’s envoy to Ukraine.
“There is still a lack of tangible results of investigations into serious cases . . . as well as investigations of high-level officials within the prosecutor general’s office,” he added....
An investigation into The Bidens doesn't even enter the picture. Shokin was a died in the wool Russian sympathizer. He won't bring charges against those that murdered all those people in the Maidan and he was not seriously pursuing the corruption left behind by Yanukovych. He was hostile to the priorities of President Poroshenko. I think the war on the eastern border was more the focus of the president and it wasn't until the EU, the IMF and the USA started to insist Ukraine deal with corruption did Shokin finally come into view as a problem.
It is sometimes difficult to understand how such corruption could still exist after a revolution that lead to changes in the constitution, but, these people existed under Russia oppression for years under Yanukovych. They were used to coping with the existing corruption and to some extent corruption has its own economy. So, a new democracy was moving forward albeit slowly and with enormous problems, including the pressures from Putin; the political infrastructure was still very fluid and allies were not necessarily easy to identify.
President Poroshenko was a businessman when he took leadership. His focus was moving Ukraine forward to encourage growth and inclusion into a European market. One of the reasons Ukraine wasn't involved in European markets before the revolution was because Russia backed Yanukovych and Yanukovych was corrupt to the core. His palace alone and all it's opulence came as gratitude by Russia.
Poroshenko had to change all that and he never focused on the fact his Prosecutor General was part of the problem. Part of that was political and appearing competent, but, his new allies insisted he move forward before sincere relief and the European markets could be open to Ukraine. That is the reason Shokin was removed from his position. It had nothing to do with Biden, except, the Vice President put an ultimatum to Poroshenko. That was the only involvement VP Biden had in removing Shokin and it had nothing to do with his son. It was about moving Ukraine out of it's vast corrupted Oligarch networks.
I might add at the time all this was going on the war in the east, vanquishing corruption, encouraging economic growth, President Poroshenko was involved with Germany, Russia and the rebels in the east in writing two treaties. First was Minske I that was violated by the eastern rebels and Minske II had the same fate. Putin's promises of ending the war didn't even come close. Instead, Russia armed the eastern rebels.
Besides the war at the eastern border of Ukraine, the primary problem President Poroshenko faced was eradicating corruption within it's sovereign borders. All one has to do is realize that the previous president, Yanukovych, and his activities were to know the corruption was rampant. The national military was disarmed and the Oligarchies throughout the country were provided weapons and uniforms to form their own militias. The Oligarchs under Yanukovych were the organizers of the economy, so everything went through them. Replacing that organization and rearming of the national military while disarming the militias didn't happen overnight.
While seeking to strengthen the domestic economy and government infrastructure the IMF lead the charge against corruption in Ukraine. When it was obvious that wasn't going to occur, Shokin was viewed as the cause.
13 February 2015
“The nomination of Shokin is a shock” (click here) – shouted the participants of the manifestation in front of the Ukrainian Embassy in Warsaw. Ukrainians, Kazakhs and Warsaw residents gathered in front of the building and protested against the most recent changes in the Prosecutor General’s Office in Ukraine and the nomination of Victor Shokin to head the prosecutor’s office.
Representatives of the Open Dialog Foundation, which organised the protest, were drawing the attention of passers-by and the media present on location, to the attempts by the Prosecutor’s Office to protect and cover for the people responsible for the massacre on Maidan. An appeal was also filed with the Ambassador and addressed to the Ukrainian President, the Prime Minister and MPs, in which Shokin’s nomination was heavily criticised.
From the Irish Times
March 29, 2016
By Daniel McLaughlin
The European Union (click here) has welcomed the dismissal of Ukraine’s scandal-ridden prosecutor general and called for a crackdown on corruption, even as the country’s political crisis deepened over efforts to form a new ruling coalition and appoint a new prime minister.
Ukraine’s parliament voted overwhelmingly to fire Viktor Shokin, ridding the beleaguered prosecutor’s office of a figure who is accused of blocking major cases against allies and influential figures and stymying moves to root out graft.
“This decision creates an opportunity to make a fresh start in the prosecutor general’s office. I hope that the new prosecutor general will ensure that [his] office . . . becomes independent from political influence and pressure and enjoys public trust,” said Jan Tombinski, the EU’s envoy to Ukraine.
“There is still a lack of tangible results of investigations into serious cases . . . as well as investigations of high-level officials within the prosecutor general’s office,” he added....
An investigation into The Bidens doesn't even enter the picture. Shokin was a died in the wool Russian sympathizer. He won't bring charges against those that murdered all those people in the Maidan and he was not seriously pursuing the corruption left behind by Yanukovych. He was hostile to the priorities of President Poroshenko. I think the war on the eastern border was more the focus of the president and it wasn't until the EU, the IMF and the USA started to insist Ukraine deal with corruption did Shokin finally come into view as a problem.
It is sometimes difficult to understand how such corruption could still exist after a revolution that lead to changes in the constitution, but, these people existed under Russia oppression for years under Yanukovych. They were used to coping with the existing corruption and to some extent corruption has its own economy. So, a new democracy was moving forward albeit slowly and with enormous problems, including the pressures from Putin; the political infrastructure was still very fluid and allies were not necessarily easy to identify.
President Poroshenko was a businessman when he took leadership. His focus was moving Ukraine forward to encourage growth and inclusion into a European market. One of the reasons Ukraine wasn't involved in European markets before the revolution was because Russia backed Yanukovych and Yanukovych was corrupt to the core. His palace alone and all it's opulence came as gratitude by Russia.
Poroshenko had to change all that and he never focused on the fact his Prosecutor General was part of the problem. Part of that was political and appearing competent, but, his new allies insisted he move forward before sincere relief and the European markets could be open to Ukraine. That is the reason Shokin was removed from his position. It had nothing to do with Biden, except, the Vice President put an ultimatum to Poroshenko. That was the only involvement VP Biden had in removing Shokin and it had nothing to do with his son. It was about moving Ukraine out of it's vast corrupted Oligarch networks.
I might add at the time all this was going on the war in the east, vanquishing corruption, encouraging economic growth, President Poroshenko was involved with Germany, Russia and the rebels in the east in writing two treaties. First was Minske I that was violated by the eastern rebels and Minske II had the same fate. Putin's promises of ending the war didn't even come close. Instead, Russia armed the eastern rebels.
Saturday, October 05, 2019
I am not a big Royal Watcher, but, I think Prince Harry has a point.
October 2, 2019
By Gregory Katz
London - Prince Harry (click here) has lashed out at the British media for its treatment of his wife, Meghan, accusing it of hounding her the way it did his mother, Princess Diana, who died in a 1997 car crash while trying to elude paparazzi.
“My deepest fear is history repeating itself. I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditized to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces,” Harry said....
We don't need another Diana. The media has been rather harsh to Prince Harry's wife. If she isn't in conflict with her sister-in-law, then there is some other confrontation with her own family. It is all nonsense and stimulated by racism.
Megan's family has been interested in celebrities themselves rather than applauding Megan and her new family. I doubt there is any sincere conflict within the Royal family, the Queen is to level headed for that.
The Royal Couple has brought their newborn before the press and has tried to share their experience as a couple. They have been with the rest of the Royal family as time demanded.
I do believe there is a thirst for scandal within the media that is detrimental to children. I understand Prince George has had a threat against his life. (click here)
I think the press is too invasive into their lives and I like that Prince Harry is taking a firm stand on the intrusion and stress the tabloid press brings their family. Whatever happened to an interview and tour of the grounds?
The younger generation has decided they want to be more average and normal within their royal lives. To that end both Princes have married women from society and not just royal lineage. A princess can now be an heir to the thrown even after a brother was born after her. These are all important and iconic changes that helps support the British society in positive roll models.
The UK has a royal family, so let them be the roll models everyone expects without tearing their character apart in ways that is unhealthy for them and the country.
I think the tabloids are silly and don't really serve societies well, including in the USA.
By Gregory Katz
London - Prince Harry (click here) has lashed out at the British media for its treatment of his wife, Meghan, accusing it of hounding her the way it did his mother, Princess Diana, who died in a 1997 car crash while trying to elude paparazzi.
“My deepest fear is history repeating itself. I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditized to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces,” Harry said....
We don't need another Diana. The media has been rather harsh to Prince Harry's wife. If she isn't in conflict with her sister-in-law, then there is some other confrontation with her own family. It is all nonsense and stimulated by racism.
Megan's family has been interested in celebrities themselves rather than applauding Megan and her new family. I doubt there is any sincere conflict within the Royal family, the Queen is to level headed for that.
The Royal Couple has brought their newborn before the press and has tried to share their experience as a couple. They have been with the rest of the Royal family as time demanded.
I do believe there is a thirst for scandal within the media that is detrimental to children. I understand Prince George has had a threat against his life. (click here)
I think the press is too invasive into their lives and I like that Prince Harry is taking a firm stand on the intrusion and stress the tabloid press brings their family. Whatever happened to an interview and tour of the grounds?
The younger generation has decided they want to be more average and normal within their royal lives. To that end both Princes have married women from society and not just royal lineage. A princess can now be an heir to the thrown even after a brother was born after her. These are all important and iconic changes that helps support the British society in positive roll models.
The UK has a royal family, so let them be the roll models everyone expects without tearing their character apart in ways that is unhealthy for them and the country.
I think the tabloids are silly and don't really serve societies well, including in the USA.
President Duterte is incompetent. Every death is a human rights abuse.
The Secretary of State should be seeking access for medical and humanitarian aid. My guess is there are many political prisoners as well. My understanding is that Duterte is Catholic, but, then so is 90 percent of the Philippine population. Duterte has openly criticized the church and the bible. (click here)
Political prisoners need to be released to return to a productive life and international help has to address the conditions these prisoners are facing.
October 4, 2019
By Jessie Yeung
One in five detainees (click here) at the Philippines' national penitentiary die every year, officials at the prison hospital have revealed.
About 5,200 inmates at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) die annually due to overcrowding, disease and violence, according to hospital medical chief Ernesto Tamayo, CNN affiliate CNN Philippines reported.
Tamayo, speaking at a Senate hearing on Thursday, said the overcrowding had led to unmanageable outbreaks of pulmonary tuberculosis, CNN Philippines said.
The NBP, located in Muntinlupa City outside the capital Manila, has been embroiled in scandals for months. Thursday's Senate hearing was just the latest development in an ongoing investigation into allegations of corruption at the Bureau of Corrections.
Public outrage began in August, when rumors spread that a former mayor currently serving time for a 1993 rape and homicide would be released early for good behavior....
Political prisoners need to be released to return to a productive life and international help has to address the conditions these prisoners are facing.
By Jessie Yeung
One in five detainees (click here) at the Philippines' national penitentiary die every year, officials at the prison hospital have revealed.
About 5,200 inmates at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) die annually due to overcrowding, disease and violence, according to hospital medical chief Ernesto Tamayo, CNN affiliate CNN Philippines reported.
Tamayo, speaking at a Senate hearing on Thursday, said the overcrowding had led to unmanageable outbreaks of pulmonary tuberculosis, CNN Philippines said.
The NBP, located in Muntinlupa City outside the capital Manila, has been embroiled in scandals for months. Thursday's Senate hearing was just the latest development in an ongoing investigation into allegations of corruption at the Bureau of Corrections.
Public outrage began in August, when rumors spread that a former mayor currently serving time for a 1993 rape and homicide would be released early for good behavior....
Friday, October 04, 2019
There isn't a lot to discuss about Flint, Michigan this Friday night.
There was a lot of corruption in the Snyder administration. There is no doubt about that. There is still corruption effecting the decisions about declaring Flint's water safe.
This article tries to set an upbeat idea that because of Flint there are more and better clean water options today. I think it is called food security. Food security includes clean water. Flint is illustrated in this article as a point where clean water was unattainable.
October 3, 2019
By Andrew Rossow
This year’s plate of natural disasters (click here) has been deadly and left the environment in shambles. While individuals are left without homes, food, water, and other vital resources, global warming continues to strike, leaving humans open and vulnerable to poor and even more harmful water conditions.
Over the past decade, 63 million Americans were exposed to potentially unsafe water....
...Its portable water-filtration system uses “reverse-osmosis,” and a filtration system to clean water at the point-of-contact. “Reverse-osmosis” works as water is forced across a semipermeable membrane, leaving contaminants behind, which are then flushed down the drain. The clean drinking water collects in a holding tank. Usually, though, the installation and subsequent maintenance of an RO filter requires a large sum of money and is too cumbersome for a house....
So, natural disasters are proving to bring about methods to have clean water in the face of infrastructure damage or lose
For Flint, the nightmare is sustained for years. There is a growing understanding by the people of Flint that the importance of clean water is replaced by greed from contractors using substandard methods and federal authorities that simply want to wash their hands of it.
September 10, 2019
By Karen Pinchin
More than five years (click here) after the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, began, many residents still don’t know if they can trust the water coming out of their taps....
Andrew Wheeler is not qualified to be EPA Director, but, what the heck, Guiliani was the president's physician for awhile. The fact Wheeler is not qualified can be listed in any lawsuit against the agency, too.
...This past June, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler declared that Flint’s water was “safe to drink.” Last week, an EPA spokesperson reaffirmed that to FRONTLINE, saying that the drinking water “currently meets all health-based standards.”
But Flint’s mayor, Karen Weaver, has dismissed such declarations as “premature.”
“Nobody wants to say that Flint water is safe to drink more than myself and the residents of Flint, but, before we say it, we want to be absolutely sure it is true,” she said in June in response to Wheeler’s comments. A spokesperson for the mayor told FRONTLINE that Weaver stands by her stance.
Though Flint’s water, which once tested dangerously high for lead, is now within federal safety standards, microbiologists, infectious disease experts and officials including Weaver worry that harmful elements may still remain — and that state and federal regulators aren’t actively testing for them....
I still think a citizen council is necessary in Flint, so there is a consistent authority that keeps up with all the issues facing the people and how they are accounted for by the government. The citizen council can find empowerment in fundraising, being a non-profit and seeking their own grants to solve the problems of the people.
A citizen council may prove a good idea in other major cities such as Newark as well. They could have their own lawyers that litigate for them.
There was a lot of corruption in the Snyder administration. There is no doubt about that. There is still corruption effecting the decisions about declaring Flint's water safe.
This article tries to set an upbeat idea that because of Flint there are more and better clean water options today. I think it is called food security. Food security includes clean water. Flint is illustrated in this article as a point where clean water was unattainable.
October 3, 2019
By Andrew Rossow
This year’s plate of natural disasters (click here) has been deadly and left the environment in shambles. While individuals are left without homes, food, water, and other vital resources, global warming continues to strike, leaving humans open and vulnerable to poor and even more harmful water conditions.
Over the past decade, 63 million Americans were exposed to potentially unsafe water....
...Its portable water-filtration system uses “reverse-osmosis,” and a filtration system to clean water at the point-of-contact. “Reverse-osmosis” works as water is forced across a semipermeable membrane, leaving contaminants behind, which are then flushed down the drain. The clean drinking water collects in a holding tank. Usually, though, the installation and subsequent maintenance of an RO filter requires a large sum of money and is too cumbersome for a house....
So, natural disasters are proving to bring about methods to have clean water in the face of infrastructure damage or lose
For Flint, the nightmare is sustained for years. There is a growing understanding by the people of Flint that the importance of clean water is replaced by greed from contractors using substandard methods and federal authorities that simply want to wash their hands of it.
September 10, 2019
By Karen Pinchin
More than five years (click here) after the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, began, many residents still don’t know if they can trust the water coming out of their taps....
Andrew Wheeler is not qualified to be EPA Director, but, what the heck, Guiliani was the president's physician for awhile. The fact Wheeler is not qualified can be listed in any lawsuit against the agency, too.
...This past June, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler declared that Flint’s water was “safe to drink.” Last week, an EPA spokesperson reaffirmed that to FRONTLINE, saying that the drinking water “currently meets all health-based standards.”
But Flint’s mayor, Karen Weaver, has dismissed such declarations as “premature.”
“Nobody wants to say that Flint water is safe to drink more than myself and the residents of Flint, but, before we say it, we want to be absolutely sure it is true,” she said in June in response to Wheeler’s comments. A spokesperson for the mayor told FRONTLINE that Weaver stands by her stance.
Though Flint’s water, which once tested dangerously high for lead, is now within federal safety standards, microbiologists, infectious disease experts and officials including Weaver worry that harmful elements may still remain — and that state and federal regulators aren’t actively testing for them....
I still think a citizen council is necessary in Flint, so there is a consistent authority that keeps up with all the issues facing the people and how they are accounted for by the government. The citizen council can find empowerment in fundraising, being a non-profit and seeking their own grants to solve the problems of the people.
A citizen council may prove a good idea in other major cities such as Newark as well. They could have their own lawyers that litigate for them.
There are the Sanders. Bernie looks great and same as always.
Go get 'em, Bernie.
Don't think twice about Bernie and his ability to get back in the race, I am sure his doctors are important to him.
I don't want to hear it, Cheney got a heart after serving eight unforgettable years as Vice President. I don't' want to hear it! Stents are a good fix for what might ail ya.
October 4, 2019
By Deanna Hackney and Caroline Kelly
..."I want to thank the doctors, (click here) nurses, and staff at the Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center for the excellent care that they provided," Sanders said in a statement Friday. "After two and a half days in the hospital, I feel great, and after taking a short time off, I look forward to getting back to work."
Sanders' treating physicians -- Arturo Marchand Jr., MD and Arjun Gururaj, MD -- confirmed that the senator was diagnosed with a "myocardial infarction" and had two stents placed in a blocked coronary artery, noting that "all other arteries were normal." Myocardial infarction is the medical term for a heart attack....
Go get 'em, Bernie.
Don't think twice about Bernie and his ability to get back in the race, I am sure his doctors are important to him.
I don't want to hear it, Cheney got a heart after serving eight unforgettable years as Vice President. I don't' want to hear it! Stents are a good fix for what might ail ya.
October 4, 2019By Deanna Hackney and Caroline Kelly
..."I want to thank the doctors, (click here) nurses, and staff at the Desert Springs Hospital Medical Center for the excellent care that they provided," Sanders said in a statement Friday. "After two and a half days in the hospital, I feel great, and after taking a short time off, I look forward to getting back to work."
Sanders' treating physicians -- Arturo Marchand Jr., MD and Arjun Gururaj, MD -- confirmed that the senator was diagnosed with a "myocardial infarction" and had two stents placed in a blocked coronary artery, noting that "all other arteries were normal." Myocardial infarction is the medical term for a heart attack....
The Whistleblower has submitted the understanding that the phone call was placed in the National Security Council (NSC) Directorate for Intelligence Programs.
This secure location was not the place for political phone calls, especially when they blackmailed the president of another country. The telephone call now has found it's way to the US Congress. Congress needs to act on the trust placed in them to protect the constitution and the country.
Additionally, Trump has abused this secure storage other times with other political documents, perhaps more blackmail.
National Security Council Structure (click here)
There are a lot of people that should have been aware of the abuse and accessed the proof and moved it to a venue where Trump could be exposed. There is no excuse for this.
The cancellation of Pence's trip was public knowledge. The redacted paragraphs must discuss the two issues that pressured Ukraine.
This is the best news I have ever heard from a Republican. Thank you, Secretary Perry.
October 2, 2019
By Gregory Wallace and Kylie Atwood
Washington - Energy Secretary Rick Perry, (click here) who has met on at least three occasions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on Wednesday pledged to work with lawmakers looking into a whistleblower's allegations about President Donald Trump's communications with Zelensky.
"I'll just briefly say we're going to work with Congress and answer all their questions," Perry said at a department event on artificial intelligence and energy.
Perry has met with Zelensky at least three times while in office, including when replaced Vice President Mike Pence in leading a US delegation to Zelensky's inauguration last spring.
On Tuesday, Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations committee, sent a letter questioning Perry about that trip as well as his second meeting with Zelensky, a June 2019 dinner....
One check on the Executive Branch held. Just one. The office of OMB notified Congressional leaders of the change in monies for Ukraine. It was surfacing, but, it was taking time and Trump has been obstructing any and all information to Congress. It is uncertain if Congress would have ever received the information at all.
September 27, 2019
Link to Letter (click here)
Washington, DC – Today House Budget Chairman John Yarmuth (KY-03) (click here) and House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (NY-17) sent a letter to the Trump administration requesting documents and answers regarding the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB’s) involvement in the withholding of foreign aid, including nearly $400 million in crucial security assistance funding for Ukraine.
In a letter to OMB Director and Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and Acting OMB Director Russell Vought, the lawmakers expressed their “serious concerns that recent apportionment actions by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to withhold military aid for Ukraine and other foreign assistance constitute unlawful impoundments in violation of the [Impoundment Control Act of 1974] and are an abuse of the authority provided to the President to apportion appropriations.”...
end
Continued from previous entry Whistleblower complaint top of page 7
Volker and Sondland were on the outside looking in, yet President Zelenskyy turned to them to better understand what exactly was going on. Volker and Sondland were piecing together a strategy that worked to protect Ukraine, it's government and president regardless of the proper channels. I good way to look at this is that Volker and Sondland were winging it with a priority on Ukraine's sovereignty to maintain a significant military presence.
No one is going to like this, but, these men had no one to turn to. They were winging international priorities WITHOUT LEADERSHIP. They didn't have a strong process back home taking up the outrageous nature of the Trump presidency in order to file documents and concerns to enable the US House to remove Trump from office.
If the one thing the Special Counsel's report told everyone in the USA is that Russia interfered in USA elections and Donald J. Trump was obstructing justice. The USA Constitution in it's oath among all government employees, elected or not, demands to be protected. There was no one protecting the USA Constitution to turn to in resolving the obvious breach in constitutional activities by the Trump administration. That is why there are whistleblowers filing documents to tell the Congress there are profound problems in protecting the USA Constitution with this administration.
THE USA SENATE BETTER SHAPE UP. They are losing the country for the sake of their politics. Some might say that is an illness of the US House as well.
Allies have to "play ball" with Trump in order to protect their national security interests, huh? I don't think so. The US Congress, both the House and Senate, needs to take the corrupt pitcher out of the game. This is a disgrace. Is the USA sure it still has allies? We aren't acting like one.
I'll be back.
There was a fatal flaw in the Ambassadors' thinking. They were working on the basis that if they could satisfy Trump, Ukraine would receive the military equipment it needed from the USA. Trump wasn't going to send any military equipment to Ukraine REGARDLESS if Zelenskyy cooperated or not.
Trump canceled the shipment. That is a fact. He unilaterally canceled it without a word to Congress or their legislative approval.
There was no incentive for him to provide Ukraine with military equipment it needed. He would have the election strategy he wanted and a compromised Ukraine that can be handed to Vladimir Putin. Why knowing Trump's loyalities would he ever arm Ukraine for its' national security?
The Ambassadors had no right to attempt to engineer a clever outcome. They needed to act to end the blackmail against President Zelensky. They had no control over the outcome. Here again, the failure in leadership compromised some of the brightest and best minds within the diplomatic corp of the USA.
By Todd Prince
Washington - It (click here) was supposed to be a special occasion, an event that would symbolize and strengthen the bond between the United States and Ukraine.
Back in early July, U.S. House members representing the bipartisan Ukraine Caucus were hoping Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy would address both chambers of Congress during a trip that was expected later in the summer and would also take him to the White House.
Zelenskiy, a former comic with no political experience, had easily defeated incumbent Petro Poroshenko in an April runoff, after a campaign centered on pledges to curb corruption and end the five-year war against Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The House members wanted to show their support for the new leader as he took charge of a country under persistent pressure from Russia, which seized Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014 and helped ignite the war in the Donbas by fomenting separatism following the ouster of Moscow-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych....
...“Inviting President Zelenskiy to a joint meeting of Congress would serve as a strong symbolic message to the Kremlin: the American people stand shoulder to shoulder with the Ukrainian people during this time of great need,” the lawmakers said.
Now, Zelenskiy’s visit to the White House is off the table for the foreseeable future -- instead, he talked to Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York late last month -- and the strength of the relationship between Kyiv and Washington is being tested at a critical stage in the history of Ukraine....
Now Andrey works as a political consultant in the US and Canada and is able to afford some frankness – or to the extent that it is possible to be frank about a story that affects so many powerful people in the world.
The diplomat Andrey Telizhenko (click here) about the interference of the Ukrainian authorities in the American elections…
The Ukrainian Embassy in the US is located in an old brick mansion on the corner of M-street in the prestigious Georgetown area. In this building George Washington signed an agreement with a group of landowners on the allocation of plots for the creation of the capital District of Columbia. The embassy even stores a copy of the symbolical key from Washington. Here is where the American capital began. Here is where a story started that has politically shaken this city for two years.
Sometimes it seems that all current political processes in the US revolve around the “Russia investigation” of the special prosecutor Robert Müller. And the investigation, in turn, rests on charges against the former head of the campaign headquarters of Trump Paul Manafort.
Well, and the charges in their essence contain information about the Ukrainian Embassy helping the Democrats, who were eager to receive compromising evidence on their opponent.
We decided to talk to a unique witness of this story – a former employee of the diplomatic mission of Ukraine in Washington Andrey Telizhenko.
The world heard his name for the first time in January of the last year, when his testimony about the interference of the Ukrainian authorities in the American elections on the side of Hillary Clinton formed the basis of an article in the authoritative Politico publication....
The June interview with Trump by George Stephanopoulos (click here) where Trump openly stated he would take dirt on the opposition candidate was intended to secure the idea of other countries reporting in about any candidate for president. At this point did Trump set up the American people for the drummed up story about the Bidens out of Ukraine? I think he did. He and Guiliani were well on their way to twist the Ukraine president's arm for a story about the Bidens. Trump stated that to set the stage for what he anticipated would be coming.
About a week later Guiliani added that to date he nor Trump received any cooperation with the Biden story.
Trump had already stopped the military aid to Ukraine BEFORE the telephone call where he leaned on him for a story about the Bidens. His plans were to hand over Ukraine to Russia. He didn't care about the Ukraine people or their leadership.
October 2, 2019
By Aaron Fels
Ukraine’s president falsely believed a check for $391 million in US military aid (click here) was in the mail during his July phone call with President Trump — and didn’t learn the cash flow was dammed in Washington until roughly a month later, a report said Wednesday.
President Volodymyr Zelensky went into the July 25 call — now the subject of a Beltway firestorm over Trump’s request that Ukraine launch a probe into the son of political rival Joe Biden — still expecting $250 million from the Pentagon and another $141 million from the State Department to fund Ukraine’s conflict with Russia, according to BuzzFeed News.
In fact, Trump ordered the aid suspended during a meeting before the call ever took place, according to the Washington Post.
Only no one told Ukrainian officials, who instead learned that the funds had stopped flowing in a letter from their Washington embassy in late August, according to BuzzFeed, which cited both Ukrainian and US officials....
Continued in next entry.
Continued from a previous entry Whistleblower Complaint page 6 footnotes
This is the only reference on May 16th on Bloomberg regarding Ukraine.
May 15, 2019
By Daryna Krasnolutska, Kateryna Choursina and Stephanie Baker
Ukraine’s prosecutor general (click here) said in an interview that he had no evidence of wrongdoing by U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden or his son, despite a swirl of allegations by President Donald Trump’s lawyer.
The controversy stems from diplomatic actions by Biden while his son, Hunter Biden, sat on the board of Burisma Group, one of the country’s biggest private gas companies. As vice president, Biden pursued an anti-corruption policy in Ukraine in 2016 that included a call for the resignation of the country’s top prosecutor who had previously investigation....
Below appeared on May 15th and is not listed within the Whistleblower Complaint.
May 15, 2019
By Kateryna Choursina and Daryna Krasnolutska
Ukraine’s top prosecutor (click here) said he doesn’t plan to resign and is ready to work with President-Elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who’s indicated repeatedly that he’ll replace him as one of his first orders of business after taking power.
Yuriy Lutsenko said he held talks on May 11 with Zelenskiy, a comedian and political novice who won elections in April and is expected to be sworn in this month...
Footnote 11
Between the main text and the footnote, there was some concern for who was approaching President Z. The USA Ambassador Yovanovich was recalled to Washington, DC and at the same time, there were contacts of Rudy Guiliani that wanted to approach President Zelenskyy. The author of the complaint is not sure who those contacts are, but, speculates it could be the two GPO donors in the July 22nd document. I would think the donors can be asked at first and subpoenaed if necessary to ask them whether they were expecting to meet President Zelenskyy at any point in time with their association with Guiliani. And, if so, what they would expect to be the goal of their visit.
Footnote 12
These are the citations that back up the text of course, but, I am not a fan of Trump or Guiliani tweets. So, this is from Politifact that outlines Guiliani's participation in the defaming and criminalizing of the Biden Family name.
...During a Fox News interview on April 7 (click here) — weeks before Biden launched his campaign — Giuliani claimed that when he was exploring Ukraine’s role in former special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russia’s election interference, he began hearing from Ukrainians about Biden....
The Politifact article backs up the information cited by the Whistleblower.
Guiliani is quoted in this footnote as putting his client first and perhaps what he was doing might even help the country. So, he was committed to an outcome for his client, Donald J. Trump, and not necessarily the facts, truth or loyalty to the USA.
Continued in next entry.
Trump is now saying the conversation with President Z is about corruption.
The USA does not introduce more corruption through blackmail of an entire sovereign country in order to fight corruption.
We have witnessed yesterday while sifting through the Whistleblower Complaint exactly how the USA handles corruption. In the "fog of the new democracy" of Ukraine, there were two men, one a journalist and one the head of the Anti-Corruption Unit of Ukraine that found the "black ledger." Instead of taking this to the FBI, they published it so the American people could not be betrayed by the Trump Campaign. Yes?
The publication of the "black ledger" and the payments to Paul Manafort to the point of his resignation, who stated he was volunteering as the Campaign Manager, cost him his position with the Trump Campaign. It also stirred things up in Ukraine because the "fog of opportunists in this fledgling democracy" saw a way forward in calling the publication of the "black ledger" campaign interference that benefited the Clinton Campaign. Yes?
The USA didn't participate in the corruption when it became known Manafort was in bed with the Russian political party in Ukraine. The USA sent FBI agents to an investigation. That is how the USA handles a country mired in corruption. The USA rises to the power it has and provides a safe way forward in exposing the corruption and correcting the path while prosecuting those responsible for the corruption.
That is how the USA handles corruption. It exposes it, confronts it, investigates it and brings those causing the corruption to justice. To that end, Paul Manafort is now prisoned for many of his misdeeds.
The USA does not blackmail the new president of a fledgling democracy involved in a war with a country, namely Russia, that originally disarmed Ukraine's national military. The USA does not blackmail a new president of a fledgling democracy that is entangled in a war at its eastern border with a known enemy of the United States of America.
Now, I suppose if I were Trump and mistrusted every other person in the world except those that claim to be loyalists, then I suppose the only way forward is to blackmail a country's president dependent on military equipment from the USA to deal with whatever issue Trump finds important to him at the moment, be it a political campaign or drummed up corruption of a potential political opponent. Understand in that paradigm, Vladimir Putin is a trusted Trump loyalist.
The FACTS ARE PLAIN, regardless of the protracted see what sticks to the wall rantings outside the Oval Office of a president as dirty with corruption as anyone in his circle of influence, Trump blackmailed the president of Ukraine in a conversation that was definitely QUID PRO QUO. Trump has no defense and neither do many in his circle of influence.
End of discussion.
We have witnessed yesterday while sifting through the Whistleblower Complaint exactly how the USA handles corruption. In the "fog of the new democracy" of Ukraine, there were two men, one a journalist and one the head of the Anti-Corruption Unit of Ukraine that found the "black ledger." Instead of taking this to the FBI, they published it so the American people could not be betrayed by the Trump Campaign. Yes?
The publication of the "black ledger" and the payments to Paul Manafort to the point of his resignation, who stated he was volunteering as the Campaign Manager, cost him his position with the Trump Campaign. It also stirred things up in Ukraine because the "fog of opportunists in this fledgling democracy" saw a way forward in calling the publication of the "black ledger" campaign interference that benefited the Clinton Campaign. Yes?
The USA didn't participate in the corruption when it became known Manafort was in bed with the Russian political party in Ukraine. The USA sent FBI agents to an investigation. That is how the USA handles a country mired in corruption. The USA rises to the power it has and provides a safe way forward in exposing the corruption and correcting the path while prosecuting those responsible for the corruption.
That is how the USA handles corruption. It exposes it, confronts it, investigates it and brings those causing the corruption to justice. To that end, Paul Manafort is now prisoned for many of his misdeeds.
The USA does not blackmail the new president of a fledgling democracy involved in a war with a country, namely Russia, that originally disarmed Ukraine's national military. The USA does not blackmail a new president of a fledgling democracy that is entangled in a war at its eastern border with a known enemy of the United States of America.
Now, I suppose if I were Trump and mistrusted every other person in the world except those that claim to be loyalists, then I suppose the only way forward is to blackmail a country's president dependent on military equipment from the USA to deal with whatever issue Trump finds important to him at the moment, be it a political campaign or drummed up corruption of a potential political opponent. Understand in that paradigm, Vladimir Putin is a trusted Trump loyalist.
The FACTS ARE PLAIN, regardless of the protracted see what sticks to the wall rantings outside the Oval Office of a president as dirty with corruption as anyone in his circle of influence, Trump blackmailed the president of Ukraine in a conversation that was definitely QUID PRO QUO. Trump has no defense and neither do many in his circle of influence.
End of discussion.
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