January 13, 2018
By Forrest Hanson
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his wife, MacKenzie, (click here) have donated US$33 million ($45.4m) to a scholarship program for young "dreamers" called TheDream.US.
The donation from Bezos, who is the richest person in the world with an estimated net worth just shy of US$100 billion ($137.8b), will go towards funding 1,000 college scholarships, according to the Daily Mail.
And the money, the largest single donation the organisation has ever received, comes as President Donald Trump is trying to end the Obama-era DACA program and after his remarks about immigrants from "s***hole countries".
The scholarship program will fund U.S. high school graduates with a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status, an Obama-era program protecting young immigrants brought to the United States illegally by their parents - commonly known as Dreamers....
Friday, January 12, 2018
January 12, 2018
By Ron Fonger
Flint, MI -- There's a downside to removing every lead service line in Flint -- finding other homes with an elevated risk of high lead for future water testing.
Mayor Karen Weaver told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week that after all lead service lines have been pulled in Flint -- something that's expected to happen by the end of 2019 -- the city will use homes with lead solder in plumbing for Lead and Copper Rule testing that's required every six months.
"The city recognizes that it has an obligation to submit a monitoring plan for Lead and Copper Rule compliance. However .... LRC compliance monitoring is a dynamic situation," Weaver said in a January 8 letter to new EPA Region 5 Administrator Cathy Stepp.
"Beginning in 2020, permanent (test) sites will be established primarily focused on sites where lead solder has been used," the letter says....
These are all regulations that have to be met. I would fight the mitigation. There are people dead and permanently damaged due to lead poisoning by the Governor through his Emergency Manager. There is no way one case is the same as the next.
January 11, 2018
By Trace Samilton
In Flint Michigan, hundreds of people have filed lawsuits over that city's lead water crisis. Most of the lawsuits have been consolidated into one massive case. On Thursday, a federal district judge in Ann Arbor ordered all the parties into mediation.
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Hundreds of people in Flint, Mich. have filed lawsuits over that city's lead water crisis. They're seeking damages that range from property value losses to brain damage in children. Most of the lawsuits have been consolidated into one massive case. And today, a federal district judge in Ann Arbor ordered all of the parties into mediation. Michigan Radio's Tracy Samilton reports that move could mean that victims get money much faster.
TRACY SAMILTON, BYLINE: 72-year-old Elnora Carthan noticed a change in the water in her shower right after Flint switched its water source from Detroit's system to the local Flint River in April 2014.
ELNORA CARTHAN: It had this smell to it. And after you'd dry it off, you began to itch.
SAMILTON: She developed skin lesions and other problems. When the state finally admitted the switch caused lead to leach into the drinking water, she had hers tested. One bottle came back at more than 32 times the federal standard. Carthan's blood lead level was also elevated. She became a lead plaintiff in the consolidated case against everyone from the Michigan governor and city officials to the engineering firms involved in the water switch. Carthan worries about her grandchildren, who drank the water when they visited....
And then there is this. I don't believe the reporting of test failures. I want an investigation. Why was the test changed in 2014?
January 10, 2018
There's a chance that tests given to millions of kids since 2014 (click here) to detect lead poisoning didn't work properly, delivering falsely low results to an unknown number of American families.
As many as 7 million tests performed on children over the course of the three years could have been wrong, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The manufacturer of the tests in question, however, is confident the number is millions lower..
Parents may not realize that routine visits to the pediatrician should include a blood test to screen their child for lead. Among the barrage of questions about a baby's development, physical exams, updates on shots and other tests, it can get glossed over – particularly if the test comes back negative.
Although lead has been banned from products such as gasoline and paint for decades, it's possible for any child to become lead poisoned so the CDC recommends testing early in life.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recalled the faulty tests in May, and eight months later, it's still uncertain what went wrong. Health professionals and families are still dealing with the fallout, which some worry hurt trust in the screenings and could result in fewer parents testing their children....
By Ron Fonger
Flint, MI -- There's a downside to removing every lead service line in Flint -- finding other homes with an elevated risk of high lead for future water testing.
Mayor Karen Weaver told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week that after all lead service lines have been pulled in Flint -- something that's expected to happen by the end of 2019 -- the city will use homes with lead solder in plumbing for Lead and Copper Rule testing that's required every six months.
"The city recognizes that it has an obligation to submit a monitoring plan for Lead and Copper Rule compliance. However .... LRC compliance monitoring is a dynamic situation," Weaver said in a January 8 letter to new EPA Region 5 Administrator Cathy Stepp.
"Beginning in 2020, permanent (test) sites will be established primarily focused on sites where lead solder has been used," the letter says....
These are all regulations that have to be met. I would fight the mitigation. There are people dead and permanently damaged due to lead poisoning by the Governor through his Emergency Manager. There is no way one case is the same as the next.
January 11, 2018
By Trace Samilton
In Flint Michigan, hundreds of people have filed lawsuits over that city's lead water crisis. Most of the lawsuits have been consolidated into one massive case. On Thursday, a federal district judge in Ann Arbor ordered all the parties into mediation.
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Hundreds of people in Flint, Mich. have filed lawsuits over that city's lead water crisis. They're seeking damages that range from property value losses to brain damage in children. Most of the lawsuits have been consolidated into one massive case. And today, a federal district judge in Ann Arbor ordered all of the parties into mediation. Michigan Radio's Tracy Samilton reports that move could mean that victims get money much faster.
TRACY SAMILTON, BYLINE: 72-year-old Elnora Carthan noticed a change in the water in her shower right after Flint switched its water source from Detroit's system to the local Flint River in April 2014.
ELNORA CARTHAN: It had this smell to it. And after you'd dry it off, you began to itch.
SAMILTON: She developed skin lesions and other problems. When the state finally admitted the switch caused lead to leach into the drinking water, she had hers tested. One bottle came back at more than 32 times the federal standard. Carthan's blood lead level was also elevated. She became a lead plaintiff in the consolidated case against everyone from the Michigan governor and city officials to the engineering firms involved in the water switch. Carthan worries about her grandchildren, who drank the water when they visited....
And then there is this. I don't believe the reporting of test failures. I want an investigation. Why was the test changed in 2014?
January 10, 2018
There's a chance that tests given to millions of kids since 2014 (click here) to detect lead poisoning didn't work properly, delivering falsely low results to an unknown number of American families.
As many as 7 million tests performed on children over the course of the three years could have been wrong, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The manufacturer of the tests in question, however, is confident the number is millions lower..
Parents may not realize that routine visits to the pediatrician should include a blood test to screen their child for lead. Among the barrage of questions about a baby's development, physical exams, updates on shots and other tests, it can get glossed over – particularly if the test comes back negative.
Although lead has been banned from products such as gasoline and paint for decades, it's possible for any child to become lead poisoned so the CDC recommends testing early in life.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recalled the faulty tests in May, and eight months later, it's still uncertain what went wrong. Health professionals and families are still dealing with the fallout, which some worry hurt trust in the screenings and could result in fewer parents testing their children....
It is a matter of loyalty, you see. The Democrats aren't loyalists to Trump, hence, are not provided with bipartisanship.
The US House is long overdue to file impeachment. The US House will be an ostrich for Trump for as long as he remains in office.
The Democrats need to understand they will never receive bipartisan anything. The Dreamer issue is real and urgent. In case the Democrats want to join the "ass kissers" of Congress, the cabinet meeting below is an example of acceptable behavior.
Seriously.
Everytime Trump offers bipartisan resolve to a sensitive issue, there is a bottom line to taking up the loyalty pledge. It is cohersion. What does Trump care and he knew a senior Democrat would tell the 'fake news media' about the audacity of Trump's words. He planned it. Now, he will hold the lack of loyality by the Democrats as an example of how the Dreamers will never get their legislation. They aren't going to get it anyway, but, hey there must be a way to FORCE the Hispanics to his election column.
That is Trump and a very corrupt US House and Senate. The Democrats learn anything this time? Not yet? Oh. The Democrats have their Republican colleagues to thank for continued attempts of cohersion by Trump.
How many of the cabinet still have their jobs? Or is it just senior staff that can't stand the bastard?
January 12, 2018
By Julie Hirshchfeld Davis
Washington — It was just after President Trump (click here) had finished railing in the Oval Office against African immigrants he said came from “shithole countries” when a senior Republican senator, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who was there to negotiate a deal on immigration, spoke up.
“America is an idea, not a race,” Mr. Graham said, according to three people familiar with the exchange on Thursday. Diversity was a strength, he said, not a weakness. And by the way, the senator added, he himself was a descendant of immigrants who came to the United States from “shithole countries with no skills.”
Mr. Trump’s racially charged comments in front of several lawmakers, which also extended to immigrants from Haiti — followed by a day in which members of Congress denounced the president, defended him or stayed silent — now threaten what had been an emerging agreement to protect undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children....
The Democrats need to understand they will never receive bipartisan anything. The Dreamer issue is real and urgent. In case the Democrats want to join the "ass kissers" of Congress, the cabinet meeting below is an example of acceptable behavior.
Seriously.
Everytime Trump offers bipartisan resolve to a sensitive issue, there is a bottom line to taking up the loyalty pledge. It is cohersion. What does Trump care and he knew a senior Democrat would tell the 'fake news media' about the audacity of Trump's words. He planned it. Now, he will hold the lack of loyality by the Democrats as an example of how the Dreamers will never get their legislation. They aren't going to get it anyway, but, hey there must be a way to FORCE the Hispanics to his election column.
That is Trump and a very corrupt US House and Senate. The Democrats learn anything this time? Not yet? Oh. The Democrats have their Republican colleagues to thank for continued attempts of cohersion by Trump.
How many of the cabinet still have their jobs? Or is it just senior staff that can't stand the bastard?
January 12, 2018
By Julie Hirshchfeld Davis
Washington — It was just after President Trump (click here) had finished railing in the Oval Office against African immigrants he said came from “shithole countries” when a senior Republican senator, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who was there to negotiate a deal on immigration, spoke up.
“America is an idea, not a race,” Mr. Graham said, according to three people familiar with the exchange on Thursday. Diversity was a strength, he said, not a weakness. And by the way, the senator added, he himself was a descendant of immigrants who came to the United States from “shithole countries with no skills.”
Mr. Trump’s racially charged comments in front of several lawmakers, which also extended to immigrants from Haiti — followed by a day in which members of Congress denounced the president, defended him or stayed silent — now threaten what had been an emerging agreement to protect undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children....
What is Trump doing with our embassies?
What is the cost of all these changes? Who is responsible for the construction, etc? It's money. Trump is getting kickbacks out of these changes.
January 13, 2018
By Latika Bourke
...Mr Trump announced on Twitter that his London trip, (click here) originally planned for 2017, was cancelled, citing the move of the the US embassy from its prestigious Mayfair location to the regenerated Battersea area south of the river Thames, which he wrongly attributed to the Obama administration, as his reason.
The decision to move from Grosvenor Square was made when George W. Bush was in the White House and was announced by the then Ambassador Robert Tuttle, a Bush appointee.
London's first Muslim mayor Sadiq Khan, who Mr Trump has personally targeted over the city's terrorist attacks, said that the president's visit would have "without doubt been met by mass peaceful protests."
"It appears that President Trump got the message from the many Londoners who love and admire America and Americans but find his policies and actions the polar opposite of our city's values of inclusion, diversity and tolerance," Khan said on Facebook....
I suppose the new building in 2008 is something Putin doesn't appreciate. I think it is time to examine what Trump is doing in regard to erecting buildings. There can be some embassies which would benefit from greater security, however, that is not the case in the United Kingdom. It is my guess most new buildings under Trump could have their security compromised. Perhaps Russia wanted to purchase the old USA Embassies. I am sure former USA embassies would be an improvement for Russia including state of the art security Putin can't match otherwise with Russian talent.
US embassy in Grosvenor Square, London (Old Embassy) It was originally built in 1960. It was outdated.
8 November 2018
By Jason Lewis
British firms (click here) have been banned from bidding for the £275million contract to build the new US Embassy in London.
The American mission is moving from its long-time home in Grosvenor Square in Central London to a new purpose-built secure compound close to the headquarters of MI6 in Vauxhall.
But tender documents released by the US State Department last week make it clear British firms will not be allowed to oversee the project....
...The builders will oversee the construction of a CIA operations centre, from where US agents will run sensitive anti-terror missions and work with their counterparts in MI5 and MI6.
The embassy will also have an FBI liaison office and sealed meetings rooms.
Documents from the State Department’s Office Of Logistics Management say the first stage will involve the selection of ‘American architects with experience in the design of American Embassies and other government buildings’.
Several of these firms will be invited to bid for the main contract. The design will ‘require access to classified information...the successful contractor must possess a Defense Security Service Secret Facility Clearance (FCL), with Secret safeguarding capability’. It states: ‘Foreign firms are not eligible for FCLs.’...
It took quite some time to build the new Embassy. Post 911 everything changed, especially security issues. There is an opening scheduled for this month. This is a history of the new structure (click here).
The new embassy is called "The Glass Cube." Trump is a lousy president. He is too tempermental to carry out the business of the country. The USA Ambassador to the UK should go forward with the ribbon cutting to the new embassy.
I suppose the new building in 2008 is something Putin doesn't appreciate. I think it is time to examine what Trump is doing in regard to erecting buildings. There can be some embassies which would benefit from greater security, however, that is not the case in the United Kingdom. It is my guess most new buildings under Trump could have their security compromised. Perhaps Russia wanted to purchase the old USA Embassies. I am sure former USA embassies would be an improvement for Russia including state of the art security Putin can't match otherwise with Russian talent.
US embassy in Grosvenor Square, London (Old Embassy) It was originally built in 1960. It was outdated.8 November 2018
By Jason Lewis
British firms (click here) have been banned from bidding for the £275million contract to build the new US Embassy in London.
The American mission is moving from its long-time home in Grosvenor Square in Central London to a new purpose-built secure compound close to the headquarters of MI6 in Vauxhall.
But tender documents released by the US State Department last week make it clear British firms will not be allowed to oversee the project....
...The builders will oversee the construction of a CIA operations centre, from where US agents will run sensitive anti-terror missions and work with their counterparts in MI5 and MI6.
The embassy will also have an FBI liaison office and sealed meetings rooms.
Documents from the State Department’s Office Of Logistics Management say the first stage will involve the selection of ‘American architects with experience in the design of American Embassies and other government buildings’.
Several of these firms will be invited to bid for the main contract. The design will ‘require access to classified information...the successful contractor must possess a Defense Security Service Secret Facility Clearance (FCL), with Secret safeguarding capability’. It states: ‘Foreign firms are not eligible for FCLs.’...
It took quite some time to build the new Embassy. Post 911 everything changed, especially security issues. There is an opening scheduled for this month. This is a history of the new structure (click here).
The new embassy is called "The Glass Cube." Trump is a lousy president. He is too tempermental to carry out the business of the country. The USA Ambassador to the UK should go forward with the ribbon cutting to the new embassy.
There is a huge difference between non-disclosure and prostitution.
Trump absolutely had sex with a porn star at a golf tournament. Bragging rights. Melania married Donald on January 22, 2005. It is called adultery.
Jessica Drake is one of at least 11 women to have alleged that the real estate billionaire groped them, made inappropriate remarks or forcibly kissed them.
Forcibly kissing is called assault. The Russians have so much on him he can't bend over backward far enough to make them happy.
January 12, 2018
By Sara Boboitz
Lawyer Gloria Allred (click here) holds a photograph of Jessica Drake and Donald Trump taken in 2006 after she spoke to reporters about allegations of sexual misconduct against him in Los Angeles, California.
...Michael Cohen, (click here) a longtime representative of the Trump Organization, reportedly negotiated a nondisclosure agreement with a lawyer for the woman, Stephanie Clifford, over an encounter that allegedly occurred in 2006. Clifford did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The deal would have been reached around the same time a leaked recording revealed the now-infamous lewd comments Trump made on the set of “Access Hollywood” in 2005.
The alleged consensual sexual encounter between Trump and Clifford is said to have taken place after the pair met at a Lake Tahoe golf tournament in July of that year. Jessica Drake, an adult film actress and director, says Trump grabbed her, kissed her and offered her $10,000 for sex at the same golf tournament....
Jessica Drake is one of at least 11 women to have alleged that the real estate billionaire groped them, made inappropriate remarks or forcibly kissed them.
Forcibly kissing is called assault. The Russians have so much on him he can't bend over backward far enough to make them happy.
By Sara Boboitz
Lawyer Gloria Allred (click here) holds a photograph of Jessica Drake and Donald Trump taken in 2006 after she spoke to reporters about allegations of sexual misconduct against him in Los Angeles, California.
...Michael Cohen, (click here) a longtime representative of the Trump Organization, reportedly negotiated a nondisclosure agreement with a lawyer for the woman, Stephanie Clifford, over an encounter that allegedly occurred in 2006. Clifford did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The deal would have been reached around the same time a leaked recording revealed the now-infamous lewd comments Trump made on the set of “Access Hollywood” in 2005.
The alleged consensual sexual encounter between Trump and Clifford is said to have taken place after the pair met at a Lake Tahoe golf tournament in July of that year. Jessica Drake, an adult film actress and director, says Trump grabbed her, kissed her and offered her $10,000 for sex at the same golf tournament....
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