The Snyder administration has a real difficult time respecting the elected authorities of Flint, Michigan.

First, Snyder involves the legislature to change the Emergency Manager law, then removes the elected authority of Flint, Michigan; then takes radical steps to change the drinking water source, casting people's health into chaos and then hides the whole thing, including deaths from Legionnaires.

These sort of things stay with you as a young person. I remember a time when I was in an eight-grade classroom and a strong wind blew up, breaking several large panes of glass. Shards flew into the room and two students were injured, one severely, but, they both recovered without a problem. The next day the classroom had plywood where the windows were and the room felt strange and the two students effected weren't there. 

That was a long time ago. Yet, when I think of things that effected me as that young student, it always comes back as if it were yesterday. These problems in Flint are not a minor issue. It will linger in memories and in some bodies for the rest of their lives.

There was a lot of damage done in Flint by Snyder and the least his administration should do is cause more trauma.

April 20, 2018
By Julian MacMath

In this May 4, 2016 file photo, drinking fountains are marked "Do Not Drink Until Further Notice" at Flint Northwestern High School in Flint, Michigan.

...Snyder said: (click here) “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.

He added: “For the past two years I have repeatedly been asked when I would declare the water safe in Flint and I have always said that no arbitrary decision would be made — that we would let the science take us to that conclusion. Since Flint’s water is now well within the standards set by the federal government, 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.”

Despite the water test results, the replacement of all lead service lines is not yet complete, leaving many residents fearful that the water might not be safe in every home.

Across the country, many have taken to Twitter to criticize Snyder’s decision....

Trump removes the word "occupied" in relation to the West Bank.

PCHR Weekly Report (click here) On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (12 – 18 April 2018)

...Israeli forces continued to use excessive lethal force against Palestinian civilians, who participated in peaceful demonstrations organized on the 42nd anniversary of the Earth Day, particularly in the Gaza Strip, which witnessed peaceful demonstrations along the eastern Gaza Strip border area, where ten thousands of defenseless Palestinian young men, women, children, and elderlies participated. On 13 April 2018, the Gaza Strip witnessed peaceful demonstrations where ten thousands of Palestinian civilians participated.  Those non-violent demonstrations continued sporadically during the reporting period.  As a result, 2 Palestinian civilians were killed, so the death toll has increased to 29 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children and a journalist, since the beginning of the demonstrations in the Gaza Strip only on 30 March 2018.  Moreover, during the reporting period, 393 Palestinian civilians, including 67 children, 10 women, 4 journalists and 3 paramedics were wounded; 20 of them sustained serious wounds.  In the West Bank, the Israeli forces wounded 17 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children, in separate incidents....

"Under Trump the Human Rights Report no longer calls the West Bank Occupied." (click here)

It is about time. The DNC experienced sincere damage to its organization.

I betcha most Americans don't realize hacking into a database is a crime. Well, it is and there is real damage committed when it happens.

I hope all the Russians cited in the Mueller investigation are also part of this lawsuit. I think there are 12 altogether. That does not include Guccifer and that Russian should be included as well.

April 20, 2018
By Katelyn Polantz

The Democratic National Committee (click here) is suing the Trump campaign, Russia, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and several associates of President Donald Trump alleging a grand racketeering, hacking and fraudulent conspiracy that harmed Democrats through WikiLeaks' publication of internal party emails during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Those named in the lawsuit include several top Trump advisers who attended the now-infamous June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower, longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former campaign adviser George Papadopoulos and others

The 66-page lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court on Friday lays out how the Trumps curried favor in Russia through their family business, and then Russia allegedly worked with Trump advisers before the presidential election to disseminate the spoils from a cyberattack of the DNC....                      

Just a word about Columbine.

Columbine High School has commemorated that horrific day every year with a day of service. The school was closed today to facilitate the student's service activities.

The children of Columbine were respected by the US Congress. The Assault Weapon's Ban was legislated. The students today are not receiving that level of concern or respect. Marching is a way to let legislators, parents, teachers, local and state officials know there is something STILL wrong after the deaths of so many students.

I think a service day for Columbine is fine if that is what satisfies their resolve. Unfortunately, for many students across the USA, marching to bring the message, "Not One More," feels right to them.

Students (click here) at Clayton Bradley STEM Academy in Maryville, Tennessee walked out Friday, April 20, 2018 to a circle with 199 chairs for each of the school shootings since 2000 plus Columbine in the center of the circle.

She was just doing her job. "The Independent" has pictures and descriptions of those effected by the Russian election tampering.

Ms Yates, (click here) a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia.

According to "The Independent," North Korea is interested in peace and the well being of the people of the Korean Peninsula.

April 20, 2018
By Jeremy B. White

As a planned summit (click here) between Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un approaches, Pyongyang has indicated it would abandon its nuclear programme without requiring American troops to leave the Korean Peninsula.

“The North is expressing a will for a complete denuclearisation”, South Korean president Moon Jae-in said to reporters. “They have not attached any conditions that the U.S. cannot accept, such as the withdrawal of American troops from South Korea. All they are talking about is the end of hostile policies against North Korea, followed by a guarantee of security”.

Achieving a deal on those terms would represent a resounding success for Mr Trump, who months earlier had threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea during a United Nations speech to world leaders....     

Residents in the area of Salisbury were warned today there can still be contamination with the nerve agent.

17 April 2018
By Sunita Patel-Carstairs

Sergei and Yulia Skripal (click here) will be offered new identities and a new life in America in an attempt to protect them from further murder attempts.

The nerve agent (click here) used to poison Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury was delivered "in a liquid form", it has been revealed.

Government officials say the Skripal's Wiltshire home - situated on the outskirts of Salisbury - was targeted with a "very small amount" of novichok.

The highest concentration was found there, and a further eight areas were potentially contaminated.

Salisbury cemetery, where the remains of the ex-spy's wife and son rest, was not targeted.

A spokesman from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: "In this instance, direct contact is required for a person to be poisoned. Only a small proportion of the material is transferred in each contact and the substance is diluted in each secondary or tertiary contact.

"The class of nerve agent does not produce significant vapour or gas and can only be moved between sites by direct transfer from a contaminated person or by moving a contaminated item."...

I don't want to hear about emails when the Republican Congress is like an open faucet, not leaks, to the press.

The Republicans worry about two aspects of national security:

The politics of emails and the politics to thwart a federal investigation that compromised the USA elections of 2016.

There needs to be an ethics and criminal investigation to the release of the Comey documents to the public.

I don't want to hear the Republican moaning and groaning about emails when they can't even uphold national security.

Mexico needs assistance in methods of intelligence and potentially US military taking over control of major drug routes.

I read the 15 pages and Trump has an agenda that is not lawful. I find the practices of preserving operational information with the President excellent. I congratulate them for their intense loyalty to the country. I also think Trump can be blackmailed by Russia and the Justice Department and national security agencies, including military intelligence needs to aware of the truth.

My concern is that he will seek to change the way the national intelligence agencies work and how they report. We have already been through an overhaul of administrative practices after September 11, 2001. It would be a mistake to do it again and very dangerous with a President that knows little to nothing about the way government works.

This is what is going on south of the USA southern border. The drug cartels always escalate violence within the country when they are concerned about their drug trade and it's routed. This is unacceptable violence within Mexico and the USA has an obligation to act. The National Guard at the border will also be a target. The USA military needs to consider plans to take control of the drug routes and a way the Mexican authorities still in place can contain and end this violence.

April 18, 2018

It was the first of four death threats Rubio (click here) said she has received since January from the same well-spoken, anonymous man. She has stayed in the race in Guachochi, located in a mountainous region of Chihuahua state that is a key route for heroin trafficking. But two armed body guards now follow her round the clock.

“At 2 a.m., you start to get scared, and you say, ‘something bad is going on here’,” she said.

An explosion of political assassinations in Mexico has cast a pall over nationwide elections slated for July 1, when voters will choose their next president and fill a slew of down-ballot posts.

At least 82 candidates and office holders have been killed since the electoral season kicked off in September, making this the bloodiest presidential race in recent history, according to a tally by Etellekt, a security consultancy based in Mexico City, and Reuters research....