This Blog is created to stress the importance of Peace as an environmental directive. “I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.” – Harry Truman
(I receive no compensation from any entry on this blog.)
Whistleblower Herve Falciani has said the UK government should have known about the scandal in 2010. Committee chairman Andrew Tyrie said the committee was
concerned about the allegations and had decided to take oral evidence
from both HSBC and HMRC. Meanwhile, the BBC understands the Treasury is preparing legislation to tighten the tax evasion laws....
This is a convenient excuse for the southern Senator David Vitter to attempt to taint Ms. Lynch's spotless record.
February 12, 2015
...Senators submitted dozens (click here) of
additional questions to Lynch in writing about her differences with
Attorney General Eric Holder, the immigration order, and a range of
granular topics related to the Justice Department, which she responded
to in a 220-page document earlier this week.
Grassley said on Thursday he was unhappy with some of those responses, and wanted time to press her further.
The Republicans pulled this last minute anxiety methology when Secretary McCarthy was nominated as well. Same exact methodology to instill fear of their power over any nominee.
"I
know that there's a lot of pressure to answer these questions quickly
but that doesn't excuse the incomplete answers," he said.
Louisiana
Republican David Vitter said he had asked for Lynch's nomination to be
held while he examined a 2012 agreement her office entered into with HSBC Holdings Plc.
The agreement required the bank to pay more than $1 billion, but
allowed it to avoid charges it failed to stop hundreds of millions of
dollars in illegal drug money from flowing through the bank and the U.S.
financial system. That
settlement has received renewed attention after media reports of a
second investigation into the bank's Swiss unit, which allegedly helped
wealthy clients evade taxes in their home countries by hiding money in
Switzerland.
The committee is expected to take up Lynch's nomination again at its next business meeting later this month.
The issue with HSBC was a record setting fine. There was so much wrong with the case it would have probably put a real dent in their assets which ultimately could have caused a loss to consumers for the size of the actual fine. There is no other bank that were assessed one billion US. I don't think she was being nice to them. Seriously.
This new case is a new case. The international community is taking a look at the practice of banks and their offshoring habits because their customers have so much money in their banks they basically own the bank.
The ability of banks to enforce the law they live within is becoming more and more difficult because there are few and few million-billionaires.
I am sure the attorney that follows Ms. Lynch after she is made Attorney General will give the case as much attention and careful consideration as Ms. Lynch would. She is needed in Washington, it is time for her to assume her place in the Obama cabinet.
March 13, 2014 By Ed O'Keefe Congressional leaders (click here) have invited Pope Francis to address a joint
session of Congress during his expected visit to the United States next
year....
Stay tuned.
December 11, 2015 Vatican City
Here is a translation of the Message that Pope Francis sent to
the Minister of the Environment of the Republic of Peru, Manuel
Pulgar-Vidal,... ...Together with my greetings to you (click here), Mr. President, and to all the
organizers and participants in that Conference, I wish to express to you
my closeness and encouragement, so that the work of these days will be
carried out in an open and generous spirit. What you are going to debate
affects the whole of humanity, in particular the poorest and future
generations. More than that, it is a grave ethical and moral
responsibility.
It is significant that the Conference is being held on the coasts
adjacent to the Humbolt maritime current, which unites in a symbolic
embrace the peoples of America, Oceania and Asia and which has a
determinant role in the climate of the whole planet. The consequences of
environmental changes, which are already felt in a dramatic way in many
States, especially the insular ones of the Pacific, remind us of the
gravity of negligence and inaction. The time to find global solutions is
running out. We will only be able to find adequate solutions if we act
together and in agreement. Hence, there is a clear, definitive and
ineluctable ethical impetrative to act.
The effective struggle against global warming will only be possible
with a responsible collective answer, that goes beyond particular
interests and behavior and is developed free of political and economic
pressures....
I have never heard a Pope address the actual oceanography of Earth. I feel respected that Pope Francis is interested enough in the urgency of our planet's plight that he actually came to understand Earth's dynamics. He is amazing. He loves Earth the way I love Earth.
The heating of Earth is no minor matter to Pope Francis. He has decided for himself the degree Earth is pushed beyond it's physics. God's gift to us is being ignored and taken for granted; abused even. There are many more that live on this planet than simply those in the First World that can't seem to adjust to reality.
...Rather, Humboldt's importance lies in having given expression to an
important environmental ethos, for having given voice to a sensibility.
What von Humboldt saw wherever he explored was "the chain of connection"
between all things. As he himself put it: "In considering the study of
physical phenomena. . . , we find its noblest and most important result
to be a knowledge of the chain of connection, by which all natural
forces are linked together, and made mutually dependent on each other."...
Scott Walker saw some of the most draconian cuts to state employees than ever before in Wisconsin history. It would be almost admirable if the cuts in the budget resulted as an economic benefit that increased jobs in other sectors of the Wisconsin economy. It didn't. Wisconsin had the second lowest GDP growth in the region. It wasn't even close to the USA economy. The graph is from a Wisconsin study. (click here) After listening to Walker in Great Britain it is fairly obvious the Republicans are worried about losing any segment of the Catholic vote they had before Pope Francis. His words are nearly identical to the controversy caused by the Pope when he spoke about evolution. The Republicans are going to be hard pressed to mimic Pope Francis when it comes to the 1 percent. I haven't heard how they intend to raise the minimum wage or support health care for everyone. Did I miss something?
I believe the Republicans are adding words to their dictionary because they are concerned about losing Catholics as Pope Francis seeks change within his papacy. The Republicans have had no rush of conscience. It is still all based in greed and deception. They are the same ole', same ole' Republicans.
This is Lincoln’s last portrait, purportedly taken on April 10, 1865—one
week before his assassination. It’s also one of the few portraits that
shows Lincoln grinning.
...So on February 12, Lincoln’s real birthday, there are a handful of
celebrations on a state level, along with a ceremony at the Lincoln
Memorial in Washington, D.C. There is also a wreath ceremony at
Lincoln’s birthplace in Kentucky.
Lincoln really was born in a one-room log cabin, on Sinking Spring
Farm near present-day Hodgenville, Kentucky. (The original cabin was
destroyed by the time of Lincoln’s death in 1865.) There were efforts right after Lincoln’s death to get this birthday
recognized as a holiday, but there has never been a federal
Lincoln-birthday holiday.
By 1890, Lincoln’s birthday was observed as a paid holiday in 10 states. According to one blog that tracks the holiday, in 1940 24 states and the District Of Columbia observed Lincoln’s Birthday. Now, after the Uniform Monday Holiday Act was passed in 1971 and
states moved toward considering the federal Washington-birthday holiday
as Presidents Day, there are just a handful of states that honor Lincoln
directly.
Ever since Cory Gardner jumped in to the US Senate race he chose to leave his cronies behind and find mainstream America. He still is unable to answer questions that actually requires a solid understanding of the issue.
President Obama has come out with his request for authorization to war. He made his case. He didn't spoon feed Congress because he actually expects Congress to know what is happening in the world. I suppose their demand for fund raising doesn't leave much room for understanding what they are legislating. As that is the condition of Congress, they need to pass the legislation as written by the President. The only other valid path than authorization is complete withdrawal.
Putting the words, "We are to win," is not a strategy either. It is obvious Senator Garner needs to do his homework since he has no idea how to address the speech by the President. The Speaker doesn't either.
The Middle East isn't as complicated as some would like to make it; but, it needs attention to detail and response from governing bodies to protect their sovereignty.
The problem in enlisting commentary from the media or Congress is that they do not accept the FACT the USA military is muscle bound and that there are two wars whereby the deaths of innocent people have been astronomical. The USA military doesn't accept the fact they can't simply launch an aggressive campaign and kill people. That same aggression has closed the US Embassy in Yemen. Reflect on that awhile.
Figure it out yet?
The USA military destabilized the government in Yemen. Where has that happened before in recent history?
These are Third World countries with multiple ethnicities and their governments have a toe hold on power. What is the USA's military response? It arrives and starts annihilating people. What does anyone expect to happen? I suppose the average Yemeni takes it on the chin in their Lazy Boy to watch Monday Night Football, right?
These people will respond to USA violence. I guarantee you The West won't like what happens next. The question is what happens to the safety of Western nations when the USA military carries out this so called war on terror? The USA military is the problem.
I tell you what. The USA military should be taking humanitarian aid to the people of Yemen, not USAID. Maybe then the people will forgive the USA and relate to generosity which is one of the pillars of Islam. The USA military doesn't FIRST live with the people, they only seek to kill the perceived enemy. The USA military has to regroup and stop crashing drones in Iran.
The Yemeni people only understand there are planes that come in the skies and people die. The first outcome the USA military has to accomplish is to know the people in any country accept their leadership to the point where a coup is not an answer sought as a remedy to people dropping in the street from drones.
And. Oh. By the way. Don't destroy mosques or close newspapers belonging to people who are still learning the impacts of communication over killing and blowing up infrastructure.
AND THE SHI'ITES are not the enemy just because Iran removed the Shah when Iranians were dying in the streets from starvation. And then the USA doesn't communicate with Tehran for decades.
The USA military needs to consider dropping humanitarian aid into these countries with messages that will mean something to them. We did that in Afghanistan and the people were fine with it. It was an attempt by the USA to COMMUNICATE it's purpose in coming into their country. Try enlisting the people toward a peaceful purpose when they understand who the military is seeking to carry out defense of our borders. The people and their well being has to be paramount to any Western defense strategy. This is not hand holding, it is about bringing First World defense to a Third World country to stabilize the region. Get them to understand completely why the alarming events occur and why their government is blameless and a good government on an international stage.
Get it right, please. We are attempting to secure their country as well as ours. Their boots on the ground are even more important than our boots on their ground. Their military will protect the country, define it's borders with hopes to stabilize their day to day lives. The people need to listen to their leaders while carrying out pilgrimages and economics.
Yemen is a tough one. There was boy killed without reason because he called his father frequently during the day. There is a lot of pain over such attacks. The people of this region have to accept governance rather than surviving by the gun.
March 21, 2015 By John Ingold
Congressman Cory Gardner, (click here) who has been hammered for his position on social issues ever
since he jumped into the U.S. Senate race, dropped a political bombshell
Friday with his revelation that he was wrong to have supported previous
personhood efforts. He said that after learning more about the
measures, which would have had the impact of outlawing abortion, he
realized the proposals also could ban certain forms of contraception, a
prohibition he does not support. "This was a bad idea driven by
good intentions," he told The Denver Post. "I was not right. I can't
support personhood now. I can't support personhood going forward. To do
it again would be a mistake."...
WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) – Schools (click here) will begin this fall evaluating how
well kindergarteners can read under a bill Governor Walker signed into
law today. The goal of the “Read to Lead” initiative is to ensure students can
read at or above grade level by the time they reach the 3rd grade. The
legislation will spend up to $800,000 on the reading assessment. Walker returned to Franklin elementary school in Wausau to the sign
the legislation in the same library where he read last May to third
graders from the Dr. Seuss book “Oh! The Places You'll Go!”...
This is a bit off topic since we all know how intimately important Dr. Seuss is to the US Congress; but, the former chancellor of UNCW, Dr. Leutze was admired by all on campus. Why? Because he respected research. Research is conducted across any discipline that exists. He understood research because even though he was chancellor he conducted his own research. He was one of the most prolific chancellors within the UNC system. In many ways, it was he that was demanding of the university that drove it to being seventh in the world in marine biology and ninth in the USA for business.
There are leaders and then there are people by which leading comes as second nature to the person they are.
As a matter of fact, long before a water supply was of concern to the country due to global warming and drought, Dr. Leutze took the warnings of his scientists seriously and formed a committee to explore what global warming meant to North Carolina. I think the documentary regarding the initiative of this committee appeared on public television. Their findings and recommendations were implemented quite some time ago. North Carolina has done well considering the drought Georgia has experienced. The Leutze policies have sustained for decades, that is because he knows good research and is able to articulate it and document it to benefit the people of North Carolina.
Maybe it seems like decades. The video came out in 2003 after their work was completed.
Dr. Leutze didn't believe in handing off important work to a hired hand, he conducted it himself. One has to know what one is talking about in order to narrate a documentary such as this. The author has to be able to formulate a premises before any research can be conducted and concluded.
After a16-hour-long negotiation in Minsk, (click here) the capital of Belarus, the leaders of France,
Germany, Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement to bring peace to the Donbass
region of eastern Ukraine. The parties
to the conflict have agreed to begin a ceasefire at 00:00 on February 15,
Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters after the meetings ended. "[They]
have managed to agree on the main things," Putin said. "First of all,
it was agreed to cease fire at 00:00 on Feb. 15....
Russia can't simply sign a paper and walk away wishing it holds. Russia has to enforce the ceasefire. That means Russia troops take on the resolve to stop the rebels from killing anyone. If Russia cannot or will not enforce the ceasefire that is a constructive consent for others to be sure it holds.
If she was in the presence of a IS commander, her life was in danger. That is all that is important. She loved her family and wanted to come home. Anything else is survival.
February 10, 2015
She may have been an unwilling bride of ISIS. (click here)
Kayla Jean Mueller, the Arizona aid worker whose death was confirmed
Tuesday, was “given” to an Islamic State commander after she fell into
their clutches, ABC News reported.
“ISIS didn't see her as a hostage or a bargaining chip,” a counter-terrorism official told the network.
Mueller had been spotted “in the company” of an ISIS leader who was
being tracked by U.S. intelligence and some officials believed she was
in a “forced marriage.”
In a handwritten letter that Mueller’s parents released Tuesday, the
26-year-old captive insisted she was being treated with “the utmost
respect + kindness” and that she was “unharmed” and even put on a few
pounds....
Let me get this out of the way. I am quite sure there are political agitators worried about an American woman carrying the fetus of an IS commander. I can only imagine what is being said. I am not interested in details.
These same people are the ones causing so much of the mess with immigration reform. These political hacks are on patrol for any child being born in a way that is not between white American people. If they had their way every child without roots back to the founding fathers are aliens that need to be deported. This is nonsense.
