April 6, 2018
By Alice Yin
Lansing, Mich. (AP) — Four remaining free bottled water stations (click here) will close in Flint, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder announced Friday, more than two years after the state opened them in response to a man-made, lead-tainted drinking water crisis that threatened the health of its residents.
The statement came with an update that the city's water has tested below the federal lead and copper limit of 15 parts per billion for about two years. Levels of 4 ppb were recorded during the first three months of 2018.
"We have worked diligently to restore the water quality and the scientific data now proves the water system is stable and the need for bottled water has ended," Snyder, a Republican, said. "We will now focus even more of our efforts on continuing with the health, education and economic development assistance needed to help move Flint forward."
Residents and local officials criticized the move, noting that many in the city of 100,000 remain distrustful after their water supply was contaminated with lead for 18 months. The contamination happened in 2014 and 2015 when officials used river water that wasn't properly treated. As a result, lead leached from old pipes and fixtures, and the state is still working to replace pipes in the community....
The difference between most Americans and the residents of Flint, is poverty. The residents of Flint were dealing with poisoned water for over a year and their circumstances are still troubling. The lead came from the pipes and most Americans don't expect their water to leach lead into their water. It is unjust to do this to the residents of Flint.
March 5, 2016
By Lucy Schouten
Peggy Schwartz (click here) has lived in Phoenix for 54 years, where she drinks bottled water to avoid what she describes as the bad-tasting tap water.
"I use, for drinking, all bottled water and have forever," says Ms. Schwartz, a realtor, in a phone interview. "But I've never had anything tested. I don't know statistically if it's good, bad, or what."
Schwartz is not alone in wondering about her water quality. More than half of Americans worry that Flint's water crisis is a bellwether for bad water, according to a poll by the Associated Press/GfK, and only one in three is willing to drink water straight from the tap....
April 4, 2018
By Steve Carmody
After more than six years of state oversight, (click here) the city of Flint is finally emerging from receivership.
Flint Mayor Karen Weaver could hardly contain her feelings about the end of state oversight of her city.
“I’m excited. I’m glad they’re gone,” Weaver told reporters after the news broke this afternoon.
The city of Flint is the last Michigan municipality to be under state financial oversight through a Receivership Transition Advisory Board....
Friday, April 06, 2018
California needs to apply for or issue, thorough state legislation, temporary work status for agricultural workers.
Non-Immigrant Visa
Nonimmigrant visas are issued to foreign nationals seeking to enter the United States on a temporary basis for tourism, business, medical treatment and certain types of temporary work. The type of nonimmigrant visa needed is defined by immigration law, and related to the purpose of the travel. Generally, an individual applies directly to the U.S. consulate or embassy abroad for a tourist (B-2) or business nonimmigrant (B-1) visa. However, foreign nationals seeking to enter the United States to study or work may require certain authorization and documentation prior to applying for a nonimmigrant visa. For an alphabetical listing all of the nonimmigrant visa classifications and specific requirements refer to the USCIS website. or the U.S. Department of State website.
Sometimes I wonder if the attacks on the Undocumented isn't an attack on California agribusiness.
The sales value (click here) generated by California
agriculture increased by 4.6 percent between the 2012 and 2013 crop years. The State’s 77,9000 farms and ranches received $46.4 billion for their output, up from the $44.3 billion received in 2012. California’s increase in revenue was led by the dairy industry followed by the almond and grape industries, respectively....
California agribusiness contributes heavily to the USA GDP and it should not be tampered with when it comes to harvests of agricultural products. There are several farm unions that California can work with to guarantee worker safety while employed by a farmer.
"The United Farm Workers" (click here)
"Agricultural Workers Industrial Union" (click here)
"National Farm Workers Union" (click here)
California could ask farmers to organize. By doing so they bring economic power to the legislative agenda. Farmers can grow their crops without immigrants, legal or otherwise, but, they can't harvest them.
In realizing this will become an emergency the state of California needs to have a plan in place that will allow "temporary workers" into the state to assist in harvesting.
When considering the economic state of Mexico's tourism, the worst thing that can happen is alienation of Mexican workers from California agriculture. There is no time for funding of studies regarding California and it's need of the Undocumented. The California legislature needs to problem solve this issue and the federal government needs to act to provide some degree of Visas to those that come to work in the harvest of California.
Part of what the California legislature needs to bring to a focus is the global inequity that parallels the income inequality of Americans. It is referred to as "The Elephant Chart." (cilck here)
Brookings:
...In doing so, we find that the primary narrative is one of convergence: Poorer countries, and the lower income groups within those countries, have grown most rapidly in the past 20 years. The data do not support the idea that the poorest people are being left behind, nor that the richest are taking all the income gains....
Basically, the global wealth is concentrated in a few countries as well as a few individuals. That makes it nearly impossible for a country like Mexico to pull out of impoverishment because it's citizens are unable to grow an economy that benefits the population. In Mexico, in particular, the impoverishment has meet with organized crime of drug cartels and simply gangs that have no other means of making a living. The impoverishment of Mexico, with few people to grow their economy through investment is compounded by a collapsing Mexican currency.
Case in point:
Unhappy: Carlos Slim (pictured, here in 2011) has slipped from being the world's richest man to sixth position
Mexico's richest man, Carlos Slim, (click here) has seen his personal fortune shrink by $16 billion because of Donald Trump. When Trump launched his presidential bid on June 15, 2015, the Mexican telecoms tycoon's wealth stood at $67 billion. As a result of Trump reaching the White House and the consequent slide in the Mexican currency, the peso, Slim's fortune has slipped to $51 billion....
Now, I do not feel sorry for Mr. Slim exactly, but, he has been an investor that has reaped many financial rewards within the Latin American. His losses are only reflected by the fact when the migrant worker stays in Mexico rather than harvesting in California there is little alternate work for them. Mr. Slim's loss is also the loss of the people within his industries.
I am sure people like Mr. Slim know the economic dynamics of Mexico's failing tourist industry and the future of economic growth. They could speak to the need to have Mexicans working in the harvest fields of California.
Someone has to do something and certainly adding the National Guard to the southern border will only increase the deterrent of migrant workers to their much needed service in the agricultural fields of the USA.
6 John Deere S690 Combines with MacDon 45 ft FD75 Draper Heads (click here)
1 Case IH 9230 Axial-Flow with a MacDon 45 ft FD75 Draper Head
1 CLAAS Lexion 760 TT
I might add, this dynamic does not hit as hard in Red States where the product is mostly grain crops harvested by combines.
The sales value (click here) generated by California
agriculture increased by 4.6 percent between the 2012 and 2013 crop years. The State’s 77,9000 farms and ranches received $46.4 billion for their output, up from the $44.3 billion received in 2012. California’s increase in revenue was led by the dairy industry followed by the almond and grape industries, respectively....
California agribusiness contributes heavily to the USA GDP and it should not be tampered with when it comes to harvests of agricultural products. There are several farm unions that California can work with to guarantee worker safety while employed by a farmer.
"The United Farm Workers" (click here)
"Agricultural Workers Industrial Union" (click here)
"National Farm Workers Union" (click here)
California could ask farmers to organize. By doing so they bring economic power to the legislative agenda. Farmers can grow their crops without immigrants, legal or otherwise, but, they can't harvest them.
In realizing this will become an emergency the state of California needs to have a plan in place that will allow "temporary workers" into the state to assist in harvesting.
When considering the economic state of Mexico's tourism, the worst thing that can happen is alienation of Mexican workers from California agriculture. There is no time for funding of studies regarding California and it's need of the Undocumented. The California legislature needs to problem solve this issue and the federal government needs to act to provide some degree of Visas to those that come to work in the harvest of California.
Part of what the California legislature needs to bring to a focus is the global inequity that parallels the income inequality of Americans. It is referred to as "The Elephant Chart." (cilck here)
Brookings:
...In doing so, we find that the primary narrative is one of convergence: Poorer countries, and the lower income groups within those countries, have grown most rapidly in the past 20 years. The data do not support the idea that the poorest people are being left behind, nor that the richest are taking all the income gains....
Basically, the global wealth is concentrated in a few countries as well as a few individuals. That makes it nearly impossible for a country like Mexico to pull out of impoverishment because it's citizens are unable to grow an economy that benefits the population. In Mexico, in particular, the impoverishment has meet with organized crime of drug cartels and simply gangs that have no other means of making a living. The impoverishment of Mexico, with few people to grow their economy through investment is compounded by a collapsing Mexican currency.
Case in point:
Mexico's richest man, Carlos Slim, (click here) has seen his personal fortune shrink by $16 billion because of Donald Trump. When Trump launched his presidential bid on June 15, 2015, the Mexican telecoms tycoon's wealth stood at $67 billion. As a result of Trump reaching the White House and the consequent slide in the Mexican currency, the peso, Slim's fortune has slipped to $51 billion....
Now, I do not feel sorry for Mr. Slim exactly, but, he has been an investor that has reaped many financial rewards within the Latin American. His losses are only reflected by the fact when the migrant worker stays in Mexico rather than harvesting in California there is little alternate work for them. Mr. Slim's loss is also the loss of the people within his industries.
I am sure people like Mr. Slim know the economic dynamics of Mexico's failing tourist industry and the future of economic growth. They could speak to the need to have Mexicans working in the harvest fields of California.
Someone has to do something and certainly adding the National Guard to the southern border will only increase the deterrent of migrant workers to their much needed service in the agricultural fields of the USA.
"21 Minutes, 11 Combines, 1 Wheat Field"
6 John Deere S690 Combines with MacDon 45 ft FD75 Draper Heads (click here)
1 Case IH 9230 Axial-Flow with a MacDon 45 ft FD75 Draper Head
1 CLAAS Lexion 760 TTI might add, this dynamic does not hit as hard in Red States where the product is mostly grain crops harvested by combines.
"The Don" gets caught with his pants down.
April 5, 2018
By Julia Hirshfield Davis
Washington — President Trump denied (click here) on Thursday knowing of a $130,000 payment his lawyer made to a pornographic film actress who claims to have had a sexual encounter with him, an assertion that threatened to complicate his legal battle against her.
Mr. Trump made his first public remarks about the matter aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington from White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., where he had held a round table on tax cuts. Asked by a reporter if he knew about the payment to the actress, Stormy Daniels, whose given name is Stephanie Clifford, he said, “No.”
Asked why Michael D. Cohen, his personal lawyer, had made the payment, Mr. Trump said: “You’ll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney, and you’ll have to ask Michael Cohen.”
The president said he did not know where the money had come from, and ignored a question about whether he ever set up a fund Mr. Cohen could draw from....
So, let's see. Something like nine women or more have stated they had an affair with "The Don" behind the backs of the women he publically was involved with; "The Don" says it is all nonsense to get money, BUT, given the opportunity to sue for $20 million for a non-disclosure agreement he never signed he launches a lawsuit against one woman stating, they had an affair and was threatened with her life to keep quiet.
Would I sign a non-disclosure agreement with a gun to my head? Well, let's just say I agree with the Bald Eagle.
I a strange man can find me in a parking lot completely defenseless while I am caring for my baby daughter, I pay attention.
California P.C. 422(a): Criminal Threats (click here)
March 16, 2018
President Donald Trump's attorneys claim (click here) that Stormy Daniels, the porn star who says she had an affair with Trump that began in 2006, violated a nondisclosure agreement and is now liable for at least $20 million in damages, The New York Times reported Friday.
The $20 million figure reportedly represents the 20 times Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, violated that agreement, according to The Times.
"Mr. Trump intends to pursue his rights to the fullest extent permitted by the law," one of the filings read.
Trump's court filings come amid a civil suit Clifford filed earlier this month. In the suit, she alleged that a $130,000 nondisclosure agreement between her and Trump is invalid because Trump never signed the form. Clifford has also offered to return the money so she could freely talk about her experience....
By Julia Hirshfield Davis
Washington — President Trump denied (click here) on Thursday knowing of a $130,000 payment his lawyer made to a pornographic film actress who claims to have had a sexual encounter with him, an assertion that threatened to complicate his legal battle against her.
Mr. Trump made his first public remarks about the matter aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington from White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., where he had held a round table on tax cuts. Asked by a reporter if he knew about the payment to the actress, Stormy Daniels, whose given name is Stephanie Clifford, he said, “No.”
Asked why Michael D. Cohen, his personal lawyer, had made the payment, Mr. Trump said: “You’ll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney, and you’ll have to ask Michael Cohen.”
The president said he did not know where the money had come from, and ignored a question about whether he ever set up a fund Mr. Cohen could draw from....
So, let's see. Something like nine women or more have stated they had an affair with "The Don" behind the backs of the women he publically was involved with; "The Don" says it is all nonsense to get money, BUT, given the opportunity to sue for $20 million for a non-disclosure agreement he never signed he launches a lawsuit against one woman stating, they had an affair and was threatened with her life to keep quiet.
Would I sign a non-disclosure agreement with a gun to my head? Well, let's just say I agree with the Bald Eagle.
I a strange man can find me in a parking lot completely defenseless while I am caring for my baby daughter, I pay attention.
California P.C. 422(a): Criminal Threats (click here)
A conviction for criminal threats can carry substantial consequences which is why one should immediately retain a criminal defense attorney to start your defense. This charge may be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony with a “strike” allegation. Consequently, if one is convicted of a strike offense, their sentence will double if they’re subsequently convicted of another felony. Often times, this charge consists of only one witness making an allegation that you threatened them without any recorded (video and or audio) evidence....
I think the entire mess needs a court date.March 16, 2018
President Donald Trump's attorneys claim (click here) that Stormy Daniels, the porn star who says she had an affair with Trump that began in 2006, violated a nondisclosure agreement and is now liable for at least $20 million in damages, The New York Times reported Friday.
The $20 million figure reportedly represents the 20 times Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, violated that agreement, according to The Times.
"Mr. Trump intends to pursue his rights to the fullest extent permitted by the law," one of the filings read.
Trump's court filings come amid a civil suit Clifford filed earlier this month. In the suit, she alleged that a $130,000 nondisclosure agreement between her and Trump is invalid because Trump never signed the form. Clifford has also offered to return the money so she could freely talk about her experience....
This hasn't happened in a while. 5.3 is a significant quake. Too close to the San Andreas.
This is still another quake that hasn't occurred in some time. This is getting to be a bit of a phenomenon.
2018-04-05 19:29:16 UTC (click here)
33.838°N 119.726°W
9.9 km depth
Channel Islands (CBSLA) — A magnitude 5.3 earthquake (click here) was felt throughout many parts of Southern California Thursday afternoon.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) initially reported the quake was a magnitude 5.0, but it was later upgraded to magnitude 5.3. The quake was the most widely felt in the L.A. area since 2014 when a magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck Encino.
According to the USGS, the quake happened at around 12:29 p.m. and was reported near Channel Islands, just off the coast of Southern California.
The epicenter of the quake was approximately 28 miles southwest of Santa Cruz Island and about 11 miles deep in the ocean.
“The offshore faults that produced today’s M5.3 quake are part of the system that moves Southern California around a bend of the San Andreas fault,” said seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones on Twitter following the quake....
Bald Eagles have no shame when danger strikes and take to the air to live another day.
2018-04-05 19:29:16 UTC (click here)33.838°N 119.726°W
9.9 km depth
Channel Islands (CBSLA) — A magnitude 5.3 earthquake (click here) was felt throughout many parts of Southern California Thursday afternoon.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) initially reported the quake was a magnitude 5.0, but it was later upgraded to magnitude 5.3. The quake was the most widely felt in the L.A. area since 2014 when a magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck Encino.
According to the USGS, the quake happened at around 12:29 p.m. and was reported near Channel Islands, just off the coast of Southern California.
The epicenter of the quake was approximately 28 miles southwest of Santa Cruz Island and about 11 miles deep in the ocean.
“The offshore faults that produced today’s M5.3 quake are part of the system that moves Southern California around a bend of the San Andreas fault,” said seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones on Twitter following the quake....
Bald Eagles have no shame when danger strikes and take to the air to live another day.
Former President Park is appealing her 24 year jail sentence handed down by a lower Korean court.
April 6, 2018
By Kim Se-jeong
...This makes her the nation's third ex-president to be criminally convicted....
...The judge (click here) found her guilty of pressuring major conglomerates to donate 77.4 billion won to the Mir and K-Sports foundations, organizations controlled by her key confidant Choi Soon-sil. Choi received a 20-year jail sentence in the lower court for taking bribes....
...Her downfall began with the ferry Sewol disaster in April 2014 in which more than 300 passengers of the commercial passenger ferry died....
...In 2016, a corruption scandal involving her confidant Choi eventually stripped her of her presidential office. On March 10 last year, the nation's Constitutional Court confirmed her removal from power. She left the presidential office and headed to a detention center in southern Seoul for a criminal investigation into corruption allegations....
By Kim Se-jeong
...This makes her the nation's third ex-president to be criminally convicted....
...The judge (click here) found her guilty of pressuring major conglomerates to donate 77.4 billion won to the Mir and K-Sports foundations, organizations controlled by her key confidant Choi Soon-sil. Choi received a 20-year jail sentence in the lower court for taking bribes....
...Her downfall began with the ferry Sewol disaster in April 2014 in which more than 300 passengers of the commercial passenger ferry died....
...In 2016, a corruption scandal involving her confidant Choi eventually stripped her of her presidential office. On March 10 last year, the nation's Constitutional Court confirmed her removal from power. She left the presidential office and headed to a detention center in southern Seoul for a criminal investigation into corruption allegations....
Shouting over the internet is not the way this is done.
I don't have a problem with the idea of balancing trade with other countries, including China. But, to conduct trade negotiations this way is not appropriate or PRODUCTIVE.
The USA has not had active trade negotiations since Nixon. The USA Pre-NAFTA sought trade through negotiations. It is the way it should be. Wall Street came along and put plenty of money in the palms of US politicians and all of a sudden there were huge CONTRACTS that treated countries homogenously. It is crazy, it hurts Americans (the best workforce on the planet) and it contributes to the national debt. The USA loses income to the US Treasury every day when Americans are underpaid.
The USA needs to be a leader, step away from Wall Street and conduct trade negotiations that stabilize the US economy and returns the American Dream. Shouting across the internet is not the way it is done. When Nixon went to China it opened paths, not "Windows."
April 6, 2018
China warned on Friday (click here) it would fight back "at any cost" with fresh trade measures if the United States continues on its path of protectionism, hours after President Donald Trump threatened to slap an additional $100 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods.
In light of China's "unfair retaliation" against earlier U.S. trade actions, Trump upped the ante on Thursday by ordering U.S. officials to identify extra tariffs, escalating a high stakes tit-for-tat confrontation with potentially damaging consequences for the world's two biggest economies.
On Wednesday, China unveiled a list of 106 U.S. goods — from soybeans and whiskey to frozen beef and aircraft — targeted for tariffs, in a swift retaliatory move only hours after the Trump administration proposed duties on some 1,300 Chinese industrial, technology, transport and medical products....
The USA has not had active trade negotiations since Nixon. The USA Pre-NAFTA sought trade through negotiations. It is the way it should be. Wall Street came along and put plenty of money in the palms of US politicians and all of a sudden there were huge CONTRACTS that treated countries homogenously. It is crazy, it hurts Americans (the best workforce on the planet) and it contributes to the national debt. The USA loses income to the US Treasury every day when Americans are underpaid.
The USA needs to be a leader, step away from Wall Street and conduct trade negotiations that stabilize the US economy and returns the American Dream. Shouting across the internet is not the way it is done. When Nixon went to China it opened paths, not "Windows."
April 6, 2018
China warned on Friday (click here) it would fight back "at any cost" with fresh trade measures if the United States continues on its path of protectionism, hours after President Donald Trump threatened to slap an additional $100 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods.
In light of China's "unfair retaliation" against earlier U.S. trade actions, Trump upped the ante on Thursday by ordering U.S. officials to identify extra tariffs, escalating a high stakes tit-for-tat confrontation with potentially damaging consequences for the world's two biggest economies.
On Wednesday, China unveiled a list of 106 U.S. goods — from soybeans and whiskey to frozen beef and aircraft — targeted for tariffs, in a swift retaliatory move only hours after the Trump administration proposed duties on some 1,300 Chinese industrial, technology, transport and medical products....
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