Beauty and serenity. "Magic Mountain"

Mount Dawagengzha is surrounded by a sea of clouds on Nov 11, 2014, in Baoxing county of Ya'an city in Southwest China's Sichuan province. Dawagengzha, which means "magic mountain" in the Tibetan language, covers about 200 square kilometers and is 3,900 meters above sea level. Last month, a 24 km "sky road" passing Dawagengzha was opened to traffic to improve the life of the local dwellers, who are mostly Tibetans. The sky road, featuring lakes, forests, canyons and grasslands, also offers a great sightseeing platform to drivers to see Mount Siguniang on the north, Mount Pagela on the south and the Gongga Mountains to the west. [Photo/Xinhua]

Above and below the clouds. I betcha the President has never seen it, but, there is all that security and stuff. China has some absolutely beautiful landscapes and this is one of them.

A visitor takes photos of Mount Dawagengzha, in Baoxing county of Ya'an city in Southwest China's Sichuan province, Nov 4, 2014. The "magic mountain" is on a "sky road" which is decorated by mountains, lakes, forests, canyons and grasslands. [Photo/Xinhua]

Now, about that TPP? The price of a USA election is a very small price to pay for the ultimate payoff.

November 5, 2014

...Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei (click here) made the comment at a regular news briefing when asked to comment on a speech by US Secretary of State John Kerry in a lecture in Washington.

Kerry promoted the importance of enhancing ties with China on Tuesday and expressed concerns about tension in the South China Sea ahead of President Barack Obama's China visit next week.

"We have noticed Kerry's speech. The 35-year history of diplomatic relations between China and the United States has fully proved that the two countries share important mutual interests and a wide scope for cooperation," Hong said.

Both sides should and can cooperate more at the bilateral, regional and global levels to safeguard and contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and the world, he said....

China's five year plan needs to include a Middle Class strategy that provides for wealthy Chinese, but, also a better quality of life for all citizens of China.

Liu Qiangdong, CEO of JD.com, raises his arms to celebrate his company's being listed at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, May 22, 2014. [Photo/IC] 

China's Ten Wealthiest in 2014 (click here)

Tech giants rank high in the list of 400 richest Chinese released by Forbes magazine on Tuesday. This year's list has 242 billionaires, an increase from 168 in 2013, and includes more than 90 individuals who failed to make the cut last year, according to 2014 Forbes China 400 list.

IT moguls Jack Ma, Robin Li and Pony Ma occupy the top three places on the list, with Jack Ma sitting at the throne with personal fortune worth 119.34 billion yuan ($19.5 billion).

Let's take a look at the 10 richest Chinese in 2014....

Now, pay attention. The TPP is highly contested by American labor. China on the other hand has taken the initiative that if the TPP is not instrumented at the APEC, it will happily go another way with other nations. Sounds like a plan. I have to admire China to rise to the occasion to provide stability in American labor markets, hence, stability in their trade markets in the USA. 

November 6, 2014

By Jayant Menon

There appears to be a race between the United States and China (click here) to dominate the rules-setting game for trade by being the first to be able to announce plans of realizing a Free Trade Agreement for the Asia-Pacific. If the Trans-Pacific Partnership can be concluded, in one form or the other, so an announcement can be made at the APEC meeting in Beijing at the end of the week it would steal the thunder from China. But if such an announcement is not forthcoming, China will likely announce a "Beijing Road Map" for an FTA of the Pacific-rim, building on APEC rather than the TPP. Billions of dollars in trade are at stake....

China is an emerging market. It should not set it self up for potential failure by limiting it's growth. The TPP and most other USA trade agreements are meant to circumvent the WTO. I think the WTO needs to be strengthened. It was suppose to be the one place trade disagreements were to be worked out. If countries are going to circumvent the WTO, it is going to be very costly and quite possibly even jurisdictional issues. The WTO has always prevented that and it should continue.

China has had it's lawsuits within the WTO, but, it has made it take notice of it's practices. That is good thing. 

...In the last couple of years, (click here) rare earth prices have been unpredictable. In the short term, the WTO ruling could push prices further down by increasing Chinese supply. Last year, China’s rare earth exports rose by 38.3 percent, but the export value fell by 36.7 percent in the same period. The impact has already become visible in the market. The prices of the rare earth elements cerium, lanthanum and ytterbium plunged by 40 percent in the second half of last year and the trend has continued into this year as the average price of rare earth elements has fallen back to the levels of 2010....

...It has reached a level where even US defence industries are dependent on China for some of their advanced materials and components, including the magnets used in F-35 fighter jets....

No one wants the F-35 anyway. Interesting. The USA needs Chinese metal for magnets in the F-35 and then it's computer system becomes a problem. Yep, the F-35 is one big headache for many reasons.

China supplies almost 90 percent of global rare earth minerals and consumes about 70–75 percent. According to a US Government Accountability Office Report, as of 2010 China controlled 97 per cent of rare earth ore, 97 per cent of rare earth oxides, 89 per cent of rare earth alloys, 75 per cent of the neodymium iron boron magnets industry and 60 per cent of the samarium cobalt magnets industry. This dominance extends to the production of key intermediate products, such as magnets —many of these products being critical inputs for high growth industries such as hybrid cars, windmills and lighting. 

Now, windmills and hybrid cars sound like an interesting venture for China and the USA. China needs, to some extent, decide it's own best interests, too. An F-35 or a hybrid car and windmills? I would think that is an easy decision.

Then there is the real type of repatriation. I think it's time to leave.

ABS-CBNnews.com

Posted at 11/05/2014 1:03 PM

Updated as of 11/05/2014 1:03 PM

MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos in Yemen (click here) are being urged to leave the country as soon as possible, in view of the worsening security situation.
The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh reminded Filipinos that Alert Level 3 (voluntary repatriation) has been raised in Yemen, from Alert Level 2 (restriction phase).
All Filipinos who wish to avail of voluntary repatriation must signify their intention and immediately coordinate with the Crisis Management Team for assistance. The team has been deployed to Sana’a to closely monitor the political and security situation and assist the Filipino community.
The DFA encourages Filipinos in Yemen to register for repatriation not later than November 30.
On Tuesday, Reuters reported US drone strikes killed a least 10 suspected al Qaeda militants on Tuesday in central Yemen. Fighting has been taking place in central and western Yemen since the Houthis, officially known as Ansarullah, captured the capital Sanaa on September 21.
At present, a total deployment ban to Yemen is in effect. All travels to Yemen including those who are on vacation and returning to Yemen will not be allowed.

Did I hear the word "Repatriation?" Obama dangles 'dog whistle' to McConnell, but, will he bite and agree to immigration reform?

Apple already has more money than God - $155 billion, to be exact - but now it's borrowed $3.5 billion more in European markets.

Why does it need to add to its war chest? Is it burning through its cash pile on R&D for an iCar?

Or on its own non-lame version of Google Glass?

Of course not! There's no such thing as a non-lame version of Google Glass.

This is just tax arbitrage, pure and simple.

Financial engineering, (click here) in other words, is Apple's hotly anticipated new product.

I think repatriation when used in relation to financial institutions is mostly a Republican word.

Income abroad

The result, as the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities points out, was a flood of money that exclusively went to share buybacks and dividends, even as those companies cut jobs. Even worse, this just made corporations shift even more income abroad in anticipation of these "one-time" holidays becoming a regular part of our tax calendar. That's part of the reason why tech giants like Apple keep looking for every overseas tax loophole - sometimes paying nothing - as their foreign cash has piled up to almost absurd levels.

There's one little problem, though. What if the repatriation holiday never actually, you know, happens. Then corporations will be left with more money than they know what to do with overseas, which they can't use here. Now they can use it to buy other companies without incurring the wrath of the taxman - and they have - but they're out of luck if they want to, repeat after me, maximise shareholder value by paying out profits as buybacks or dividends.

Well, unless they use borrowed money to do it. That's because they only have to pay US taxes if they bring home money they earned, not money they borrowed. So Apple might issue $3.5 billion worth of euro-denominated bonds to take advantage of the even lower interest rates over there, and then use that money to buy its own stock....

When Ford Motor borrowed large amounts of cash at zero percent interest rate it was a very smart thing to do. To the best of my knowledge they dealt with American money and not tax havens overseas. Ford avoided the fate of GM when it front loaded any chance a world economic collapse would cause the company harm.

But, when Apple did it, there was no eminent threat against it's value. Apple front loaded lots of cash in anticipation of American forgiveness of wayward companies in a law that Mitch McConnell will pass called "Repatriation." The last time that was done was with "W" in office.

There was a lot money that played into the elections of 2014. A lot. From unknown sources. Now, perhaps, the American public will realize why and why they were puppets to Wall Street power. 

Be sure to take notes so it won't happen again.

China will prove a valuable partner to fight the Ebola outbreak.

November 6, 2014

Dakar: China plans (click here) to send about 1000 medical workers and experts to West Africa to help fight the Ebola outbreak.

China, Africa's biggest trade partner, has come under criticism for not doing enough. Countries such as Cuba, the United States and European nations have sent hundreds of personnel.

Beijing has already sent a total of 252 people to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three hardest-hit countries, and donated about $123 million to 13 African countries and international organisations to combat Ebola....

The only help the Chinese received to fight SARS was from the WHO. They won their fight handedly. If the Chinese are half that effective in Africa the local epidemic should come to a close. 

Space travel is becoming "Fly at your own risk."

November 6, 2014

By Alwyn Scott

New York: While private pilots and skydivers (click here) have to take out extra life insurance to cover the added risk of their pursuits, space tourists do not need special policies on their high-flying rides.

That loophole is likely to disappear, slowly, after the fatal crash last week of a test flight of a Virgin Galactic space plane designed to take tourists into space.

The loophole existed because United States life insurance policies didn't ask about space tourism or exclude it from coverage, meaning insurers most likely would have to pay if the holder died on a space trip, insurance industry veterans said....

January 30, 2014

Before you fork out $250,000, (click here) you better beware: you can't get travel insurance for that yet.

And the policies tipped to go on the market soon are unlikely to cover G-force injuries, the effects of zero gravity and possible hearing damage caused by tornado-like sounds on the journey.

Sir Richard Branson and his kids are preparing to blast off on the first Virgin Galactic space flight, launching the era of commercial space travel.

And so far, about 580 wannabe space tourists have forked out $70 million in deposits to secure their place on a space flight.

But only one travel insurer, Allianz Global Assistance, has started to think about offering insurance for space trips.

Allianz is still nutting out its prices, but policies are likely to cost up to about $11,000 - and probably won't cover some of the major health hazards of space travel....

Luxembourg is a tax haven.

November 6, 2014

By Leslie Wayne, Kelly Carr, Marina Walker Guevara, Mar Cabra and Michael Hudson

...Big companies (click here) can book big tax savings by creating complicated accounting and legal structures that move profits to low-tax Luxembourg from higher-tax countries where they have their headquarters or do lots of business. In some instances, the leaked records indicate, companies have enjoyed effective tax rates of less than 1 per cent on the profits they've shuffled into Luxembourg.

The leaked documents reviewed by ICIJ journalists include hundreds of private tax rulings – sometimes known as "comfort letters" – that Luxembourg provides to corporations seeking favourable tax treatment.

The European Union and Luxembourg have been fighting for months over Luxembourg's reluctance to turn over information about its tax rulings to the EU, which is investigating whether the country's tax deals with Amazon and Fiat Finance violate European law. Luxembourg officials have supplied some information to the EU but have refused, EU officials say, to provide a larger set of documents relating to its tax rulings....

I think this is foolish, but, Americans are foolish people sometimes.

November 6, 2014

Melanie Kembrey

The Navy SEAL (click here) who says he shot and killed al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has been identified as Rob O'Neill.

US network Fox News had been promoting an exclusive interview with the soldier that would reveal "never before shared details" of his experience of confronting and killing Bin Laden during a raid on his Pakistan compound on May 11, 2011.

But it seems the Daily Mail Online has spoiled Fox's party, outing the soldier a week before the interview was due to be aired.

In an "exclusive" report, the Mail has named Mr O'Neill, 38, as the man who, by his account, shot Bin Laden at close range during the raid.

The Mail has quoted Mr O'Neill's father, Tom, saying: "People are asking if we are worried that ISIS will come and get us because Rob is going public. I say I'll paint a big target on my front door and say come and get us."...

Coming out to get benefits after 16 years of service because he killed an "Wanted" man is attempting to strongarm the USA. Sixteen years is 16 years. Benefits begin at the 20th year of service. Twenty years has always been the standard. Now someone wants special treatment, so he becomes a political play toy.

How many people believe the Republicans were elected to stop President Obama?

No one? Really? Okay.

How many people believe the Republicans were elected because they are scared out of their wits about the Islamic State beheading people as if in the movies and Ebola was coming to kill everyone like the movie "Contagion?"

That is what I thought. Thank you for participating.

One other question. Does everyone scared to death and voting for Republicans feel better about it today?

No one? Really?

Nov. 4, 2014
By Sydney Lupkin and Linzie Janis

The Maine nurse (click here) who fought quarantine rules after returning from treating Ebola patients in West Africa has cast her ballot.

Kaci Hickox didn't go to the polls. She instead opted to vote via absentee ballot on Monday, her lawyer told ABC News.

Hickox's boyfriend, Ted Wilbur, told ABC News today, "We voted yesterday in absentia, and you can guess who we voted for. We encourage all the good people of Maine to join us in returning decency to Blaine house."...

President Obama states the best way to defeat Ebola is at it's source. Then let's get on with it. The new Congress isn't necessary to achieve this goal. Let's see today is Wednesday, will Congress be on recess again by Friday?

President Obama is going to have to enlist the American people in order to get things done. 


November 5, 2014

By Jim Kuhnhenn and Andrew Taylor

President Barack Obama (click here) on Wednesday asked Congress for $6.2 billion in emergency funds to confront Ebola at its source in West Africa and to secure the United States against any possible spread.

Administration officials say $2 billion of the total would be apportioned to the United States Agency for International Development and $2.4 billion would go to the Department of Health and Human Services. More than $1.5 billion would be for a contingency fund to deal with any unanticipated developments like a flare-up in West Africa or a need to vaccinate U.S. health care workers.

The Ebola money is the first request from Obama in the aftermath of an election that ushered in a Republican-controlled Congress, which is being seen as a repudiation of the president. The Ebola crisis has received bipartisan attention amid concerns over the potential of the disease to spread into the United States.

The Republicans believe they are America's royalty. They and Fox News.

This election is not about today's problems, this is about 2016. McConnell is waiting to leap at the chance to make the statement, "We came in peace and with good will and now the President has trashed all that and wrote an executive order." Please. We all know how this goes. Everytime the President and Congress don't agree it is another reason to say, "See, we need a Republican president in order to get anything done." I am counting the day to when those words are said and the political race for 2016 begins. President Obama may be an island, but, he is the only one concerned about the country at this point.


I would wager real money on McConnell and/or the metrosexual from Texas, to utter those words. It will happen in a shorter time than Ebola is contagious. This is the party leader that said, "Make Obama a one term president." He's reformed now? Get real.

November 5, 2014
Senator Angus King, (click here) the independent from Maine, said Wednesday that he will continue to caucus with the Democrats even though Republicans have won control of the Senate.
"My independence has always been respected in the Democratic caucus," said King, who spoke to reporters outside his home in Brunswick, Me. 
He added that his decision was made with what is “best for Maine” in mind. "It does not mean that I have become a Democrat, and in any way–official or unofficial–joined the Democratic Party. "...

The Republicans won because they have the electorate scared half to death. That is a reason to listen to Republicans? I don't think so.

I would encourage President Obama to use the "Fireside Chat" on a frequency of every two weeks to be sure the Republicans are kept accountable for the next two years. Currently, they are affiliated with news media that prides itself on falsehoods and fear. In order to maintain a steady course for the USA, President Obama should address the country on a regular basis and be sure it is on a televised basis. 

With that, I think everything will be fine. There will be no impeachment, so to call the Congress into responsibility of over riding the inevitable veto, the people need to know.

President Roosevelt needed help in handling the Congress when he was in office. It was a similar time in the country. If it worked for him, it will work for President Obama. President Obama knows the country listens to him and they write when he asks them to and the best results is when he speaks to them through television.

Voting irregularities from coast to coast.

Few districts in the country lack complaints. This widespread problem obviously points to a national strategy to reduce voter turnout.

November 4, 2014

By Tina Liebelson and Ryan J. Reilly

...The ramifications of congressional inaction (click here) are now being felt not only by Texas voters, but by residents of a number of other states as well. In Georgia, voters who believed they were registered reported being turned away because officials failed to process a number of voter registration forms that were submitted by an outside group. In North Carolina, a law in effect for the first time this year bans people from voting unless they show up at a specific precinct. Many voters in the state have reported time-consuming delays because they were not allowed to cast a ballot when they showed up at the wrong polling location....

I can imagine Preibus stating to Christi and other candidates, "But you have to find a way to inching voters out of the voting booths. Get it down at least 0.5% more in..."

November 5, 2014
Wendy R. Weiser

...But while we can breathe a sigh of relief (click here) that the electoral outcomes won’t be mired in litigation, a quick look at the numbers shows that in several key races, the margin of victory came very close to the likely margin of disenfranchisement.

North Carolina

In the North Carolina Senate race, state house speaker Thom Tillis beat Senator Kay Hagen by a margin of 1.7 percent, or about 48,000 votes.

At the same time, North Carolina’s voters were, for the first time, voting under one of the harshest new election laws in the country — a law that Tillis helped to craft. Among other changes, the law slashed seven early voting days, eliminated same-day registration, and prohibited voting outside a voter’s home precinct — all forms of voting especially popular among African Americans. While it is too early to assess the impact of the law this year, the Election Protection hotline and other voter protection volunteers reported what appeared to be widespread problems both with voter registrations and with voters being told they were in the wrong precinct yesterday....

Wasn't it Walker who stated, the election workers have a lot of responsibility the election day.

Meet Sean Haugh, the Libertarian candidate from North Carolina. This is where Democrats lost the election.

November 5, 2014
By Brian Doherty

...It isn't common for Democrats (click here) to accuse Libertarians of "spoiling" elections for them, but a look at NBC News exit polls show that Haugh voters indeed came more from people who consider themselves "moderate" (5 percent of self-identified moderates went Haugh) and even "liberal" (4 percent of liberals voted for Haugh) than from conservatives (only 2 percent of whom voted for Haugh). Those were the only three choices for self-identification....

There are Republicans and Democrats alike tired of voting for compromise. The Republicans ignore the issues that are important to the country and the Democrats are always being peace maker. This mess has gone on since 2000 and there are many who simply want to feel good about their vote. 

Mr. Haugh is typical of Libertarian voters. They want to live their lives without interference. They don't want war because war doesn't achieve anything, especially with the corruption accompanying it since "W." 

This is an email I received about Mr. Haugh.

I am not a big haugh supporter but I am less a supporter of tillis and haygan. Incompetent may just be better than corrupt (Republican) or communist (Democrat). 

The two major parties like to see this as a protest vote, but, to those voting Libertarian it is about living up to their own morals. And they aren't bad morals at all. 

Facts and not rhetoric has to be viewed by the electorate and ballot initiatives formulated.

Electorates are going to have to take on the important priority of regulating greenhouse gases through ballot initiatives.

...The new regulation,(click here)  entitled the Regulation to the General Law of Climate Change in Matters Relating to the National Registry of Emissions (Reglamento de la Ley General de Cambio Climático en Materia del Registro Nacional de Emisiones or GHG Regulation), is a key step forward in implementation of the country’s watershed 2012 General Climate Change Law (Ley General de Cambio Climático or Law) in which the country committed to GHG reductions of 35% below its 2000 baseline by 2020 and 50% by 2050.  Law, Transitories, Art. 2.  The GHG Regulation went into effect the day following its publication in the Official Gazette of the Federation (El Diario Oficial de la Federación) on October 28, 2014.  A link to the regulation can be found here....

If Mexico can do it, so can we.

In Massachusetts paid sick time passes.Citizens are finding a referendum is better than leaving important issues to the legislature.

This proposed law (click here) would entitle employees in Massachusetts to earn and use sick time according to certain conditions.

Employees who work for employers having eleven or more employees could earn and use up to 40 hours of paid sick time per calendar year, while employees working for smaller employers could earn and use up to 40 hours of unpaid sick time per calendar year.

An employee could use earned sick time if required to miss work in order (1) to care for a physical or mental illness, injury or medical condition affecting the employee or the employee’s child, spouse, parent, or parent of a spouse; (2) to attend routine medical appointments of the employee or the employee’s child, spouse, parent, or parent of a spouse; or (3) to address the effects of domestic violence on the employee or the employee’s dependent child.  Employees would earn one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked, and would begin accruing those hours on the date of hire or on July 1, 2015, whichever is later. Employees could begin to use earned sick time on the 90th day after hire.

The proposed law would cover both private and public employers, except that employees of a particular city or town would be covered only if, as required by the state constitution, the proposed law were made applicable by local or state legislative vote or by appropriation of sufficient funds to pay for the benefit. Earned paid sick time would be compensated at the same hourly rate paid to the employee when the sick time is used....

The people of Massachusetts says no to gambling.

This proposed law would (click here) (1) prohibit the Massachusetts Gaming Commission from issuing any license for a casino or other gaming establishment with table games and slot machines, or any license for a gaming establishment with slot machines; (2) prohibit any such casino or slots gaming under any such licenses that the Commission might have issued before the proposed law took effect; and (3) prohibit wagering on the simulcasting of live greyhound races.

The proposed law would change the definition of “illegal gaming” under Massachusetts law to include wagering on the simulcasting of live greyhound races, as well as table games and slot machines at Commission-licensed casinos, and slot machines at other Commission-licensed gaming establishments. This would make those types of gaming subject to existing state laws providing criminal penalties for, or otherwise regulating or prohibiting, activities involving illegal gaming.

The proposed law states that if any of its parts were declared invalid, the other parts would stay in effect.

A YES VOTE would prohibit casinos, any gaming establishment with slot machines, and wagering on simulcast greyhound races....

They also instituted stronger recycling laws with deposits on bottles.

This proposed law (click here) would expand the state’s beverage container deposit law, also known as the Bottle Bill, to require deposits on containers for all non-alcoholic non-carbonated drinks in liquid form intended for human consumption, except beverages primarily derived from dairy products, infant formula, and FDA approved medicines. The proposed law would not cover containers made of paper-based biodegradable material and aseptic multi-material packages such as juice boxes or pouches.

The proposed law would require the state Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) to adjust the container deposit amount every five years to reflect (to the nearest whole cent) changes in the consumer price index, but the value could not be set below five cents....

Massachusetts voters have instituted an automatically adjusting to their gas tax. 

This proposed law (click here) would eliminate the requirement that the state’s gasoline tax, which was 24 cents per gallon as of September 2013, (1) be adjusted every year by the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index over the preceding year, but (2) not be adjusted below 21.5 cents per gallon.

A YES VOTE would eliminate the requirement that the state’s gas tax be adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index....

These are rather incredible consumer initiatives to take the state's agenda directly to the electorate. It is the way forward for many subjects facing Americans. The more dysfunctional the legislatures become due to extremist politics, the more citizens are taking ballot initiatives. Why deal with politicians that can't find their way out of a paper bag for the politics they practice.

Chin up, these victories are not all that.

The reason the campaign against the President has been so strong is because he is a tireless leader. He has brought enormous change to the American landscape. All one has to do is look at the disastrous condition of the country in 2008 and where we are now to realize President Obama is a great president. Republicans are going to hate an great Democratic president. They still hate Bill Clinton.

But, the primary victories in this election were in red states that were due to return to Republicans in elections. The real victory is showing what it takes to win any election in the USA anymore. It is ridiculous. The USA has a very hostile majority in the Supreme Court and they have undermined democracy.

November 4, 2014

By David Lauter

..."No major party (click here) has ever been as unpopular in the history of polling as the Republican Party is," pollster Mark Mellman said at a recent discussion sponsored by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington think tank. Mellman is one of the Democrats' most prominent pollsters, which would make his judgment on the GOP suspect but for the fact that many Republican strategists share it.

Republicans have been able to make gains this year in large part because voters tend to use midterm elections to vent frustrations at the party in the White House. Presidents Reagan, Clinton and George W. Bush all saw their party lose control of the Senate during midterm contests....

Michigan voters reject the legislature's hunting of wolves.

The right wing Michigan legislature attempted to take regulation of hunting out of the hands of the state's professionals. All that was reversed last night at the polls. Legislatures is not the place to regulate hunting and populations of wildlife.

November 5, 2014
By Jonathan Oosting

...A third wolf (click here) hunting law set to take effect in March or April will reaffirm the authority of the Natural Resource Commission to name game species and establish hunting seasons.

With 93 percent of precincts reporting, Michigan Proposal 1 was headed for defeat, with 55 percent of voters choosing to reject the first wolf hunting law.Proposal 2 was on its way down as well, with 64 percent of voters saying “no” to the second wolf hunting law.

Keep Michigan Wolves Protected, a group funded primarily by the Humane Society of the United States, has vowed to fight the third wolf hunting law in court....

Outspoken: University of Arizona faculty member Musa al-Gharbi claimed in an online column that the U.S. military is as much of a threat to Middle East peace as ISIS

November 4, 2014
By James Gordon

A University of Arizona Professor (click here) is under fire after suggesting the the U.S. military poses a bigger threat than ISIS.

In an article Musa al-Gharbi who is an instructor in the university's Department of Government and Public Service program says, 'it would not be a stretch to say that the United States is actually a greater threat to peace and stability in the region than ISIS.'

The piece, entitled "How Much Moral High Ground Does the US Have Over ISIS?" the instructor portrays American soldiers as anti-Muslim rapists who commit crimes on par with - or even worse than ISIS itself....

June 5, 2013

Staff sergeant Robert Bales, left, has been charged with premeditated murder. Photograph: Reuters

The American soldier (click here) charged with killing 16 Afghan civilians during nighttime raids on two villages last year pleaded guilty Wednesday in a military courtroom to avoid the death penalty, setting the stage for him to recount details of the horrific slaughter.

Staff Sgt Robert Bales pleaded guilty to 16 counts of premeditated murder and other charges in the March 2012 attacks on two villages near the remote base in southern Afghanistan where he was posted.

Most of the victims were women and children, and some of the bodies were burned; relatives have told the Associated Press they are irate at the notion Bales will escape execution for one of the worst atrocities of the Afghanistan war.

A military judge still must decide whether to accept his plea....

October 23, 2014

WASHINGTON -- Four former Blackwater security guards (click here for video) were convicted Wednesday in the 2007 shootings of more than 30 Iraqis in Baghdad, an incident that inflamed anti-American sentiment around the globe and was denounced by critics as an illustration of a war gone horribly wrong.

The men claimed self-defense, but federal prosecutors argued that they had shown "a grave indifference" to the carnage their actions would cause. All four were ordered immediately to jail. A lawyer for one of them quickly said he expected to appeal.

The federal jury found Nicholas Slatten guilty of first-degree murder, the most serious charge in a multi-count indictment. The three other guards - Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard - were found guilty of multiple counts of voluntary manslaughter, attempted manslaughter and gun violations....

The Professor's words have merit.

The problem with Republicans

The problem is the same today as it was when Reagan was in office, they believe their own lies. Reaganomics was smoke and mirrors. Reagan deregulated. That is all he did and let Wall Street do the rest. Reagan no more had a solution for the USA's economy than the "Man in the Moon." 

Republicans are not realists, they never have been and they never will. The Representative that won the Senate, Cory somebody. He said the word 'environment' and stated they were going to solve all the problems. "W" said the same damn thing and when he realized what was involved with 'fixing' the environment, he ran the other way. Instead, he decided to hold hands with a Saudi Prince and beg for oil.

The Republicans can't do the hard stuff. They don't know how and they can't get it right. Reagan didn't have it right, he had RESIDUAL within the borders of the USA. There were monies laying around the business sector that were deregulated and natural resources, so Reagan simply decided he would open up those venues for exploitation and he did. Then they called it an economy. 

The USA is going to be fine. The best thing the people of this country ever did was to decide no one was going to save them from complete financial ruin except themselves. They are still engaged in practicing local values and local economies and quite frankly we don't need the federal government to 'create an economy.' As a matter of fact it is best if they just stay out of it. We have recovered ourselves and we are fine.

The Republicans haven't changed, they just talk like they did. They have to come into Washington, DC in January and decide how best they can feed their cronies that made them king. They won't care about the USA people, except, when the Middle Class and Poor have to give up their children for war again. Then the Middle Class and Poor are heroes and it will play well on Republican bumper stickers for the next election.

It is time to file another Executive Order to provide REAL Amnesty to undocumented workers and not just the Dreamers. It is time to do a lot of things, including permanent non-proliferation and peace. We don't need the Senate and House, they won't get anything done anyway. If they make an enemy of the President then we will witness what complete immature idiots they sincerely are as they carry out their zealots agenda. 

Nothing has changed. It's all just politics and Republican politics has absolutely nothing to do with the real world.