"Under the Sky" by The Answer (click here for website)

A leader to come and put a cross right upon his land

He said the travesty is the future has been laid

In your hands too long

Will the journey come to an end, will it end?

Sympathy can't disguise all the evil that is

Locked in your head

We're tumbling through two stories that

Should never be read

Can't you see I believe in a place called Hell

Yes, I do

Under the sky I cry for you

Under the sky I crawl

Under the sky I'd die for you

You are the reason why I fall away

People have died and I have cried waiting for

Salvation to come

It takes a lot of my faith believin' everyday we are

One in the same

Is it plain that the damage is done, is it done?

Knock me out cold clear my hair take me back

To the start

Tell me everything is over and I don't have the heartache too late

All my dreams are passing me by

There they go

Under the sky I cry for you

Under the sky I crawl

Under the sky I'd die for you

You are the reason why I fall away, I fall away, I fall-all-all away, yes

Taking a stand one hand closing over all of

Your doors

I play a different tune 'cause I don't wanna

Fight in your war,

Torn apart gotta stitch myself together again

Carry me on your back, Jack, you're never gonna

Reach to the top

Above the millions of people scrapin' by

You see what they've got

Shot down everytime they try to get back up

Up, they get

Under the sky I cry for you

Under the sky I crawl

Under the sky I'd die for you

You are the reason why I fall away

I fall away

12/13/14

This is what Citigroup earned in the third quarter or 2014.

This is from their website. I am sure most of the other banks look at least this good.

Net Income of $3.4 Billion; $3.7 Billion Excluding CVA/DVA (click here)

Revenues of $19.6 Billion; $20.0 Billion Excluding CVA/DVA

Net Interest Margin Increased to 2.91%

Net Credit Losses of $2.1 Billion Declined 14% Versus Prior-Year Period

Utilized Approximately $700 Million of Deferred Tax Assets 

What did the average American earn on their savings last year? 

"Citi.com and Citibank Online is currently not available." (click here)

These  are the average interest rates savings accounts have. This in particular is Bank of America (click here). 

Decades ago I was very entrepreneurial and began babysitting. I charged $1.00 per hour and that was big time money at that time. The word got out I knew what I was doing as a babysitter and I grew a following of parents of young children.

At one point my Dad took me to the bank with him and we decided that I was so successful I should open a "Junior" Savings account. At that time they were using Passbooks to record deposits and withdrawals.

This is what my passbook looked like. There was nothing handwritten and it was my job to check the balance after every deposit and interest recording (which happened every quarter) to be sure the Teller did not make a mistake.

Do you know what my interest rate was?

My interest rate was 5.0%. NOT 0.5% if I was lucky, but, 5.0% per annum.

I am not sure when the banks decided that saving accounts were superfluous to earnings on a personal level for every person in the USA, but, I know I would not and I do not put monies into savings accounts today. There are other ways of making money. 

Do you know what a Certificate of Deposit earned annually back in the day with a commitment of one year for $1000.00 minimum?  10%. NOT 1.0%. 10%. Let me spell that for you, Ten Percent. If one purchased a Certificate of Deposit for 3 years with the minimum deposit of $10,000.00 the earnings were 13% to 15% if you rolled it over after three years.

Do you know why the interest rates are so lousy in the year 2014? 

Take a guess.

Because the average depositor is no longer important. The banks make money from checking accounts with all kinds of fees so they maintain checking in their realm of services. But, the average depositor is NOTHING to the banks these days.

The banks take their money and invest in exotic instruments and they don't care if there wasn't a savings account within the vault. If they have a vault. Today there are banks without a physical location and if that ain't a kick, huh?

The CEOs of banks receive bonuses for the money they make year after year. As a matter of fact I am sure they are receiving bonuses from this time of year. The time of year where generosity is suppose to be the spirit we celebrate. Charity. All sorts of good feelings. Gift giving. Family. Etc.

So rather than providing a real incentive to save the CEOs take YOUR monies and invest in NOTHING. They invest in exotic 'IDEAS' that only exist on paper. They roll in the dough for the stockholders and everyone is happy.

See, if you are an average American and didn't know decades ago that interest rates on savings actually put a smile on your face for the discipline you exerted in NOT SPENDING, but, actually valuing the services of a bank and SAVED money for the future, you have no clue about the historic place banks had.

So, when Citigroup wrote a legislative addition to the $1.1 Trillion USA spending bill and they want a PERMANENT bailout in the way of subsidies, it sort of makes me a little bit angry. Not very angry. But, definitely a little angry.

The depositors are not at all valuable. The average American is literally nobody. The CEOs will pad their wallets with OUR MONEY when subsidies are issued for investments that are nothing but vapor.

There is no way these jerks deserve any consideration from the American people. Put the money into Credit Unions. BE A MEMBER OF THE PLACE YOU BANK. Attend annual meetings and meet the CEO and ask questions. It is a very interesting experience and the CEO wants to shake your hand before you even think about shaking his in return.

This legislation Citigroup wrote is just about as egregious as it comes and if they are in NEED of subsidies, when will they ever make money? When is the next recession? 

The banks learned NOTHING from 2008, but, Americans learned a great deal.

Divest of Citigroup.

Get used to crony capitalism, it is going to exist for the next two years. The Political Right Wing has been purchased by Wall Street and now they have to carry out the favors needed by Wall Street to recapture the money spent on elections. I'll tell ya, it is some kind of horns to tell the American people they have to provide subsidies for exotic financial tools. That is amazing. Wall Street has no limits on greed.

This is a five page article so try to read it in it's entirety. The USA needs a Financial Transaction Tax. There is absolutely no way there should be this level of pay backs for monies spent in elections. Since the Republicans are proving how very corrupt they are, there needs to be a tax on financial transactions to bolster the USA Treasury when the Great Recession is dwarfed by the next one.

December 12, 2014
By David Stockman
The times are few and far between (click here) that I am in agreement with Senator Elizabeth Warren’s brand of Big Government liberalism. But I do applaud her willingness to stand up to the Wall Street lobby machine; her capacity to recognize and call-out the egregious gambling dens that have metastasized there; and her insistence that never again should the hard-pressed taxpayers of America be forced to bailout the crony capitalist plunder that is enabled by the Fed’s free money madness.

But now comes a naked Wall Street raid on the taxpayers that’s beyond the pale; and it would have sailed right through in the dead of night absent Elizabeth Warren’s intrepid opposition. Bravo, Senator!

I am referring to the Citigroup-drafted sneak attack on Washington’s tepid effort to curtail the more egregious gambling habits of some of the big banks....

...In light of the inherent dangers of what even Warren Buffett once called “financial weapons of mass destruction”, it is self-evident that no bank—not even the mighty Citigroup—–should be allowed to bring these incendiary devices within a country-mile of the taxpayer enabled FDIC guarantee program....

The whales and dolphins at Sea World want freedom, not good care.

Sea World changed the dialogue and as a consequence lost it's fans. Sea World fought back against THEIR CUSTOMERS that came to understand how captivity is bad for marine mammals.

This isn't about good care or bad care or humane treatment, this is about the whales and dolphins and their native instinct that survive captivity. Sea World has refused to be moral and change it's venues to be an educational park while returning the marine mammals to sea sanctuaries where they will be safe.

Sea World uses native instinct in these marine mammals to train them for performance. Due to that the mammals bond with their trainers, however, that does not mean the mammals are happy. The opposition to the captivity of the mammals at Sea World continually stated, "These are wild animals/creatures."

Because Sea World didn't listen and tried to change the dialogue into something legally and politically correct they lost their support among the public. The marine mammals at Sea World are in misery. They are healthy and active, but, their lives are miserable to their instincts in the wild.

No different than elephants they are trainable and mostly controllable, but, they are in misery for their need to be free. These marine mammals need large areas to be free to hunt, mate and exist. These marine mammals are very gregarious. They are incredibly intelligent and HAVE NEEDS. The one need Sea World cannot or will not accommodate is their need for vast territories to live. That need is counter productive to profits. "Flipper" didn't live in a pool, it lived in the ocean and responded to calls from humans. THAT may or may not be the actual reality, but, it is the way marine mammals thrive while interacting with humans. Pools are no different than cages which offer limited freedom of movement.

Add to that Tilikum, in particular is a huge male Orca. He has needs beyond the tanks and pools. The opposition to Sea World's PRACTICES doesn't end with Tilikum.

A prime example of Sea World's irreverent policies is the ownership of Beluga Whales. Belugas are an arctic species. They thrive and realize their most active capacities in arctic waters (cold water). At Sea World they are in Florida and then trainers sometime wonder why the Beluga is so sluggish sometimes. The idea a Beluga is kept in Florida or Texas as a trained attraction for profit is about the most cruel reality a marine mammal can have. Even Ohio is not north enough for these whales.

Sea World 'takes care of their animals,' but they don't respect the innate nature of the mammal. These animals are fascinating to humans because of their size, agility and the fact they live in pods and seem to show affection for each other. 

Belugas and Orcas and Dolphins have feelings, but, they are not the exact same as humans. Their feelings are gregarious and far ranging without being paired up. They are instincts and strategies for survival in an ocean where there are no police or military. Pods can be family units, but, they exist to protect the mammals, especially that of females since they care for their young. They bond with each other and form what appears to be family units. There is a real reason they are in pods. There is no substitution for a marine mammal's pods.

I would encourage all those that want these marine mammals free in a sanctuary to continue to write not only Sea World, but, also political leaders that know the sanctuaries. The political leaders realize the importance of the sanctuaries dedicated to the protection of species that can realize a change in status to endangered in one season of harpoons.

The struggle to free Sea World's marine mammals is not over.

December 11, 2014

By Lori Weisberg

SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. (click here) announced Thursday that its CEO is stepping down, a move that follows sharp attendance and revenue declines fueled by persistent criticism of the marine parks from animal rights activists.

Jim Atchison, who served as CEO since 2009 and will leave his post Jan. 15, will receive a $2.4 million payout, according to a regulatory filing. Also announced Thursday was the prospect of an unspecified number of job cuts that will be part of a restructuring program affecting its entire 11-park system

The plan will, among other things, "result in the loss of some positions, and the company will offer severance benefits to those impacted," SeaWorld said in a news release. In all, the parks, including SeaWorld San Diego, employ as many as 25,800 workers, many of them seasonal and part-time. In San Diego, the park's workforce ranges from roughly 2,000 in the low season to a little more than 4,000 during the peak summer season....

Remember this mess where government interfered with a union election at VW?

Today the workers at the VW plants now have an Open Shop where no one is required to join or pay the union for representation. All the exciting changes are taking place in DC.

December 9, 2014
By Brent Snavely

The UAW (click here) has been certified as the representative of more than 45% of Volkswagen's workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., a major victory for the union, which has been trying to gain a foothold in the South and in foreign auto plants.

The results of the independent audit of union membership clear the way for the union to meet regularly with management on workplace issues. The UAW said Monday night it was not told the exact percentage by VW but believes the final tally could be more than 50%, which would give the union more leverage.

The UAW has a history of failed elections to unionize Asian- and German-owned assembly plants in the South. The 45% threshold is key and brings the union a step closer to becoming the exclusive bargaining representative for the plant workers....

A democratic movement never leaves the people that seek reform.

December 8, 2014

By Mitchell A. Orenstein and Bojan Bugaric

In November 16, (click here) when the Romanian people elected as president Klaus Iohannis, an ethnic German who ran a vigorous campaign against corruption, they shattered a number of illusions about politics in eastern Europe. Since the end of the Cold War, Western analysts and media have portrayed eastern Europe as a region dogged by a xenophobic nationalism, where uncivilized voters are quick to turn to ethno-nationalist parties in times of trouble. Although Hungary’s recent slide into authoritarianism conforms to this narrative, Iohannis’ victory tells another story—as do recent elections in several other postcommunist states.

In Romania, election results suggest that eastern Europeans have directed their frustrations not at ethnic minorities but at their own governments, which are riddled with corruption and inefficiencies. Iohannis’ opponent, Prime Minister Victor Ponta, ran a campaign that catered to the nationalist vote, promising to support traditional Romanian values of “the army, church, and family” and arguing that Romania should incorporate neighboring Moldova. But he was soundly defeated on polling day. Instead, voters chose a solidly pro-EU political outsider who promised good governance....     

December 12, 2014

LONDON (AP) — Oil prices have fallen further (click here) after the International Energy Agency lowered its forecast for global oil demand next year.

In its monthly oil report, the agency said global oil demand in 2015 will grow by 900,000 barrels a day, 230,000 less than previously forecast.

Following its report Friday, the benchmark New York oil price slipped further below $60 a barrel. In late morning trading in London, it was 72 cents lower at $59.23. Brent, the international standard, was 74 cents lower at $62.94.

The IEA said several years of record high prices have "induced the root cause" of the rout in oil prices in recent months — the surge in non-OPEC supply to its highest growth ever and a contraction in demand growth to five-year lows.

Elizabeth's Warren moral foundation reminds me of a different revolution.

When asked why the Rose Revolution took place in Georgia, many westerners point out that Georgians were fed up with their gloomy economic prospects and the government’s rampant corruption. It is true that corruption, sharp economic decline, and, of course, blatant election rigging all fed the popular frustration that fueled the revolution, but these and other injustices can be found in many other countries where no democratic revolutions have occurred. Why of all countries, including the states of the former Soviet Union, did such a breakthrough happen first in Georgia? What made this country special? What
factors and actors were involved? Finally, to what extent did western assistance make the revolution possible?

This report (click here) examines the specifics of the political and social landscape in Georgia before the revolution, dynamics of the protests sparked by rigged elections, and the actors who contributed to laying the groundwork for change and supporting the revolution itself. A clear picture of the Rose Revolution helps explain the most intriguing aspect of the events: that neither protesters nor the government used force despite the orders given. As an active member of Kmara, I consider all these questions and issues from a participant’s perspective, providing insights not readily available from most outside observers. 

In 2012 the first election that defeated President Saakashvili was won by a Polish billionaire named Bidzina Ivanishvili. The opposition to the Rose Revolution stated it was fading with the election of Ivanishvili as Prime Minister.
He lead  the Georgian Dream party. His time in office was only 13 months when both he and Saakashvili were replaced by the Georgian Dream Party. Ivanishvili stated he achieved what he wanted. Saakashvili had been in office since October 2008. 

The post Soviet states carry out these silly tactics against the political party they defeated to remove their opposition. So to cement the difference between the Occupy movement in the USA and the Rose Revolution in Georgia is chronic threat by Russia.

The Rose Revolution in Georgia was the country's end to pandering to anything Russian. Today Georgia is a member of NATO. However, the fear of Russia still lingers.

October 8, 2014
By Katya Soldak
...The Georgian government, (click here) under the leadership of Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, has not joined Western sanctions over Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula. A darling of the west, Georgia’s ex-president, Mikheil Saakashvili, lives in self-imposed exile in New York after the Georgian government issued a warrant for his arrest for abuse of authority and misuse of public funds, causing concerns over political persecution in the country.

President Giorgi Margvelashvili, initially a protégé of pro-Russian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, recently had a fallout with members of his own political party, Georgian Dream, and now appears more independent and assertive, but the country’s mixed messages pose questions about Georgia’s course

In an exclusive interview with Forbes Georgia editor, Guga Sulkhanishvili,  he reassures that the country will stay on track to the EU and NATO and condemns Russian aggression towards its neighbors, but at the same time, remains loyal to the idea of restoring Georgia’s  ties with Moscow....

The similarities begin and end with the political movement of young adults tired of mistreatment and disregard by any party. The Rose Revolution in Georgia began in 2003 and placed their first President in office by 2008.

It is interesting to also realize their defeat in 2013 was by a billionaire who ran for office for no other reason but to say the revolution was over. No different than the anarchy of the election process in the USA, it takes a great deal of money and a change in direction to defeat a civilized revolution.

It would seem as though the National Science Foundation, Harvard and any astronomer conducting star analysis has a course correction to make.

The absorption features (click here) present in stellar spectra allow us to divide stars into several spectral types depending on the temperature of the star. The scheme in use today is the Harvard spectral classification scheme which was developed at Harvard college observatory in the late 1800s, and refined to its present incarnation by Annie Jump Cannon for publication in 1924.

I do believe Annie Jump Cannon needs her PhD. after her name permanently. She needs the name of the Harvard Spectral Classification renamed to carry her name. And she needs proper recognition by the scientific community in being among the first women to contribute her genius to science.

...When I was first contacted (click here) by the publisher about the book, I was embarrassed that I had never heard of Annie Jump Cannon. As a kid, my favorite show was Cosmos and I wanted to be an astronomer when I grew up. I not only read a lot of Carl Sagan, but was a huge fane of science fiction as well. How had I never heard of her?...

In a time (click here) when women rarely attended college, Annie Jump Cannon studied physics, mathematics, and astronomy, and in 1896 she was hired by Edward Charles Pickering at Harvard, as one of several women assigned to assist Pickering in the Henry Draper Catalog of Stellar Spectra. Cannon, however, found the system being used unworkable, and devised a different system, categorizing stars by letters of the alphabet. Now called the Harvard Spectral Classification Scheme, her methodology was adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1922 as the official system for stellar spectra classification.

Father: Wilson Lee Cannon (shipbuilder, b. 28-Jan-1817, d. 9-Feb-1905)
Mother: Mary Elizabeth Jump Cannon (b. 7-Nov-1839, d. 22-Dec-1893)
Brother: Wilson Lee Cannon, Jr. (banker)
Brother: Robert Barrett Cannon
    High School: Wilmington Conference Academy, Dover, DE
    University: BA, Wellesley College (1884)
    Scholar: Astronomy, Radcliffe College (184-86)
    Teacher: Physics, Wellesley College (1894-96)
    Scholar: Harvard College Observatory, Harvard University (1897-1911)
    Administrator: Curator of Astronomical Photographs, Harvard University (1911-38)
    Administrator: Astronomer, Harvard University (1938-40)

Henry Draper Medal 1931
American Astronomical Society Treasurer (1912-19)
American Philosophical Society
Risk Factors: Deafness

I take it her vision was well intact. It appears she lived to the age of 77.

Executive summary: Census-taker of the sky

Born: 11-Dec-1863
Birthplace: Dover, DE
Died: 13-Apr-1941
Location of death: Cambridge, MA
Cause of death: unspecified
Remains: Buried, Lakeside Cemetery, Dover, DE

Let's stop playing semantics. The Bush White House lost Osama bin Laden and washed their hands of it.

Cheney got what he wanted for Halliburton, didn't he? Avoided a lawsuit with the stockholders, right? Those are facts. Halliburton was in Iraq immediately after the troops landed. There is no confusion there. Bin Laden was no longer a concern, simply a tool for the invasion.

April 30, 2012

By Adam Serwer

...When Stahl confronted Rodriguez (click here) with the fact that KSM refused to divulge the identity of the courier who eventually led the CIA to bin Laden, Rodriguez confirmed what we already knew—that when asked about the identity of bin Laden's courier, KSM lied. 

Stahl: Well, [KSM] didn't tell you about Osama bin Laden. He didn't tell you how to get him. He didn't tell you how to find him.

Rodriguez: Some of these people were not going to tell us everything. Stahl: So you don't break 'em. Rodriguez: There is a limit, there is a limit to what they will tell us. Actually KSM lied about the courier - whose identity finally led to the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where the terrorist leader he calls Sheikh bin Laden was hiding.

Stahl: Now, here's what I heard: that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed told you the courier had retired and threw you off the scent for a while.

Rodriguez: That was the one secret he was going to take to the grave, and that was the protection of the Sheikh. He was not going to tell us.

CBS has since posted more of the interview to its website, and the additional footage further erodes the notion that torture led to bin Laden's whereabouts. "We went to KSM and said 'What about this courier, [Abu Ahmed] al-Kuwaiti?' and he became very defensive, and he would not talk to us about it," Rodriguez says. "But later, we intercepted a message, that he was sending to the other detainees in which he said do not say a word about the courier. Which, to us meant this is important information."

Rodriguez employed a number of other well-worn fallacies in his defense of torture:...

Financial Transaction Tax

Warren Buffett and other business leaders* (click here)
In a position paper published by the Aspen Institute, the group put forth several recommendations to encourage long term focus among investors, including the proposal to “revise capital gains tax provisions or implement an excise tax in ways that are designed to discourage excessive share trading and encourage longer-term share ownership.”

If the Democrats in the US House and Senate are conflicted with the omnibus bill before the due to the burgeoning deadline for funding the government, I'd like to suggest something.

One of the reasons it is important to maintain regulations is because the USA has no residual for carrying out another bailout. It just doesn't. It is still involved in costly war and the national debt is a burden that cannot be ignored. Additionally, there were job losses and the American Dream was trashed. If the deadline for midnight is important than consider adding a "Financial Transaction Tax." It has to be permanent until a significant amount of the National Debt is paid down (at least 50%) and not recalled as of January 2014.

With a well established residual in the US Treasury the USA can at least have the ability to take care of it's citizens. The best venue for American employment, due to the role of the USA in the world, is to grow the Small Businesses in the country. They were the first ones to recover from the Great Recession.

The USA has a friend in Warren Buffet. If we can't trust a good friend and a successful fund leader, then we are simply demanding an ideology out of the wounds of the past. Wounds are a good reason, but, the USA has to find methods to rise above this nonsense that goes on with the Republicans. We have to have a long term strategy for the country and for financing the well being of our citizens. I think a Financial Transaction Tax can be a vehicle of resolving differences in the party.

*Co-signers of this paper include John Bogle (Vanguard Group), Warren Buffet (Berkshire Hathaway), Steven Denning (General Atlantic), Jack Ehnes (CalSTRS), J. Michael Farren (Xerox), Barbara Franklin (former Secretary of Commerce), Bill George (Harvard Business School), Louis Gerstner, Jr. (IBM), David Langstaff (Veridian), Jay Lorsch (Harvard Business School), Ira Millstein (Yale School of Management),Peter Peterson (Peter G. Peterson Foundation), James Rogers (Duke Energy), Felix Rohatyn (former US Ambassador to France), Charles Rossotti (former Commissioner of Internal Revenue), Judith Samuelson (The Aspen Institute), Henry Schacht (Cummins Inc. and Lucent Technologies), Lynn Stout (UCLA School of Law), Richard Trumka (AFL-CIO), John Whitehead (Goldman Sachs), John Wilcox (TIAA-CREF), Ash Williams (Florida State Board of Administration), James Wolfensohn (World Bank Group). 

If the USA moves this tax forward, the EU will be close behind in implementing theirs.

Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, Landmark Theatres, and Magnolia Pictures We need to figure out a way to revert the Stock and Bond Markets, and the derivative instruments created from these equities, back to their original purpose, a place to raise capital for growing business… The simplest way to change this is to place a very simple per share tax on every transaction… The market thrived when spreads and transaction costs were much higher just a few short years ago. It will survive now.

The actual damage to the USA's economy in 2008 was about $1.7 trillion. That is no laughing matter and to simply allow Wall Street to do it all over again is completely irresponsible in any office of the government. But, it this flip flopping of laws is going to be the wave of the future, then we need a fix that rises about the gaming of our politics.

The banks, like Citicorp, like to state they paid all the bailout back with interest. But, they never admit the citizens of this country were never made whole again! So, before Citicorp becomes self-righteous they need to reassess their real landscape of disaster.

The end of Quantitative Easing is over as well. The banks are squirming at the fact they might actually have to work for a living.

Are we a country of laws?

I didn't find Director Brennan's statements or answers to questions helpful.

The US Senate document spells out some very troubling realities beyond 'the idea' that bizarre treatment of human beings were helpful.

The facts are the facts. The law is the law. These are not grey issues. I don't find Director Brennan's statement about how the CIA can explain away the infractions of treatment of human beings as a reason to disdain the US Senate report.

The USA can't simply discuss changing direction on the treatment of prisoners on foreign soil as a matter of daily business. The allies of the USA that may have assisted with these VIOLATIONS of treaties made for the sole purpose of preventing the torture of human beings were not in the room when the discussion about tweaking torture beyond any agreed standard. How can the Director of the CIA be so repugnant to the facts complied by the US Senate?

The Senate wasn't in the room where it was decided to throw out the rule book and simply torture people because the CIA in all it's arrogance thought it prudent.

This only confirms Rumsfeld's Cabal and how that culture ran rampant in all the areas of government concerning war. 

The CIA decided the end justifies the means no matter the form or offense. That is not law, it is however arrogance. The USA is it's own sovereign authority with ties to other nations. Brennan is offensive in his idea of FAIRNESS. Fairness. There needs to be fairness in the chambers of the great CIA? Somehow the people of the USA are missing the point that the CIA has to be treated with fairness and regard. 

Where USA agencies decide they can make up their rules and activities as they happen, who then has control and will the actions taken benefit the USA or another country or interest? No, sir, the CIA is wrong and the USA is worse for it.

Brennan should have conducted an apology to the people of this country for the facts now before it.

I am sure there are other qualified people such as Joe Wilson or someone he may recommend that can handle the directorship of the CIA with better outcomes within the standards the country has set as limits in the CIA's practice. Mr. Brennan is too offended by the questions and obviously occupied with a defense of his leadership to stay in that capacity.

Poland admits complicity in allowing a CIA Black Site within their borders.

The Poland site wasn't the only site in the world. I am quite sure there were others. Poland was also compromised in that they are a former Soviet State ans was seeking security for their people from NATO. If Poland was attempting to increase assurance into or with NATO it would have done whatever the USA wanted. 

Poland, however, is not simply a babe in the woods. They actively took on two provinces in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russia were acting as peacekeepers along the border when the conflict began. It was Poland who first launched the attack.

The Five Day War (click here)  A thousand people died in the two provinces. They had no means of military defense. It was a one sided confrontation from the beginning. 

December 10, 2014
By Carol J. Williams

A U.S. Senate (click here) report on interrogation abuses by CIA operatives around the world spurred two former leaders in Poland to confirm, after years of denials, that the country hosted one of the “black site” detention facilities where the alleged torture occurred.

Former President Aleksander Kwasniewski said in a radio interview Wednesday that he approved the clandestine operation in 2002 after the U.S. administration of President George W. Bush urged Poland to assist in the global war against terrorism launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington.

But Kwasniewski and former Prime Minister Leszek Miller denied knowledge of the abuses reportedly committed during the interrogation of terror suspects, including Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, al-Qaeda kingpin Abu Zubaydah and the prisoner accused of bombing the U.S. destroyer Cole in 2000, Abd al Rahim al Nashiri.

The U.S. side asked the Polish side to find a quiet site where it could conduct activity that would allow to effectively obtain information from persons who had declared readiness to cooperate with the U.S. side,” Kwasniewski said at a Warsaw press conference, according to the Associated Press.

The CIA site opened in December 2002 and closed 10 months later, Kwasniewski said, after he pressured Bush to wind up the operation over which Polish officials felt they had too little control. Kwasniewski was president of Poland from 1995 to 2005....

Now the propaganda starts.

The US Senate review of the CIA. 

"It is not bipartisan?"

The American Press has absolutely no idea how to treat the report because it is not a political document.

Years of research and reporting has gone into this document. It is not a political document. The problem with the document is that it is all based in FACT. The actionable intelligence of this document is that those responsible can be held for trial, that is why the American media can't get it's head around these facts without spinning it to create a benevolent dialogue for the Republican administration of George Walker Bush.

The fact is the USA has been the toy of the right wing since the elections of 2000 were manipulated to favor Bush by his brother. Since that day, this country was dragged through disaster after disaster of the Bush administration and now the compilation of the most egregious, other than actually declaring war on the unarmed country of Iraq and killing tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of innocent people, acts of that administration exists. That is the fact. 

The American Press needs to review how they provided news coverage during Watergate and then they might understand how to deliver FACTS to the country. 

Bipartisan. The US Senate Committee on Intelligence IS BIPARTISAN. Senator Feinstein is the chair, thank god. But, to say this is some kind of witch hunt through the CIA and their egregious treatment of prisons is quite frankly disgusting.

So, banks are too big to fail, but, pensions are becoming too small to live on.

December 10, 2014
By John W. Schoen

...Last year, the PBGC (click here) reported that its program backing multiemployer plans was $5 billion in the red. It projected that—unless Congress acted—there was "about a 35 percent probability" its assets would be exhausted by 2022 and "about a 90 percent probability" by 2032.

Single-employer pension plans are covered by a separate PBGC program that is on a much more solid financial footing.

Proponents of the proposed PBGC reforms argue that they will help prevent more multiemployer plans from going under and that retirees are better off with smaller monthly payments than none at all.

"We have a plan here that first and foremost works for the members of the unions, the workers in these companies, and it works for the companies," said George Miller, D-Calif., who was involved in talks with Republicans over the pensions provisions.

But critics contend that the issue is too complex to be resolved with a last-minute rider to a $1.1 trillion spending bill....

There are many in the USA that would like to see the Bush administration prosecuted for crimes against humanity.

By John Heilprin
Dec. 10, 2014

GENEVA (AP) — All senior U.S. officials (click here) and CIA agents who authorized or carried out torture like waterboarding as part of former President George W. Bush's national security policy must be prosecuted, top U.N. officials said Wednesday...

With this document from the US Senate the Attorney General may be able to proceed, however, he would be the only that can address the potential of such a court. No doubt the US Supreme Court would be involved along the way. It would be best of the prosecutions were conducted in the USA rather than the world court. It would make a stronger impression upon the country if that was carried out here. The World Court, if acting alone, would be viewed as a runaway international exercise the USA should never subscribe to. 

I suggest the USA be given a nudge in the direction of taking action. It would be incredible if The World Court and/or any United Nations action could move the USA to prosecutions. It would be a joint effort and it would not be simply US Democrats seeking revenge or some strange idea as that. If the global community could find an instrument to make it clear the USA has an obligation to indict and try criminals of this nature it would serve as a greater wake up call. If the urging came from allies as well as the greater international community it would carry even more brevity.

Cheney has been the guest of nearly ever program on FOX for the past 24 hours. He must feel the devil's fire lapping up against him by now. The only reason he has been at the forefront of the release of the findings is because propaganda works or should I say has worked for the right wing extremists.

Cheney must be having some regrets, because, as he was speaking at FOX he stated, of course, he and George Bush knew everything that existed in the proceedings of the CIA. Including Bush in his statements creates a comrade to the torture. Maybe since he was Vice President it would mean he didn't carry the burden. But, Richard Cheney needs to speak for himself. If or is it when prosecution goes forward he'll realize he has very few friends, including the former president.

The Bush administration's indictment and prosecution would have to be conducted before any impeachment. The impeachment of these men would be a side proceedings and not the main justice sought.

I will say this much, these men were extremely in capable in their capacities during the years following September 11th. They were set on building enormous infrastructure to protect the American people which included the torture of individuals found to be involved in the attacks. I never believed for one minute the spending for more and more intelligence was necessary so much as a political directive to be sure the duo would win a second term.

The Washington Post wrote about the investigation into the intelligence infrastructure that grew in the USA following the attacks under the Bush White House. It was incredible to realize nearly every neighborhood in the country had some kind of person working in the surveillance of the USA. I got the clue from that Washington Post investigation that the only sure way for the White House to prevent another 911 was to spawn vasts amounts of infrastructure to catch the next attack. In contrast, New York City's police department set up a monitoring system that would require no one else in the country to assist in protections for the city. That network of infrastructure does not dominate the New York Experience or require intricate infrastructure. According to NYC it works, too.

Prosecution of these people won't happen unless there is significant pressure from the global community in what ever it takes. And I mean that. The nations of the world need to decide how to proceed and bring about a resolve to do so. The world needs these prosecutions. It was a horrible eight years and all one has to do is realize Iraq is in complete disarray with little to no hope of finding a civilized front for any religious or ethnic differences. For God Sake, the Ba'athists have created their own genocide machine. 

The world's sanity needs to be reset. But, more than the world the USA needs to find a clear way forward that will end such problems in the future. I promise you and the world will witness it themselves, the political right wing in the USA thinks nothing of killing or torture or war. They embrace it and never stop to realize the consequences as manifested in the former Iraq today.

It is all corruption. There is nothing the Republicans have done to protect citizens from exploitation by their cronies.

Dec. Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Congress (click here) will vote this week on a $1.1 trillion spending plan that would avert a U.S. government shutdown as Democrats agreed to roll back rules affecting banks, clean water and rest for truckers.

The deal was announced late yesterday after Democrats accepted Republican demands to undo some regulations including the banking provision, a big victory for Wall Street. It lets JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and other lenders keep swaps trading in units with federal backstops...
...While most of the government would be funded through September 2015, the Department of Homeland Security would be financed only through Feb. 27. Republicans want to the use the agency's spending bill to defund President Barak Obama's decision to ease deportation rules for millions of undocumented immigrants....

Until the final bill is written and passed there is no way of knowing what in particular is said about any of these provisions. From what I see now, most of the provisions are anti-American. 

...The Dodd-Frank Act (click here) divides regulatory authority over swap agreements between the CFTC and SEC (though the prudential regulators, such as the Federal Reserve Board, also have an important role in setting capital and margin for swap entities that are banks)....

Democratic votes will be needed to pass the bill and to that end they are stating many of the most damaging provisions have been averted. If these aren't the most damaging provisions, I'd hate to know what are.

...In addition to the Dodd-Frank measure on swaps trading, the new spending bill would allow exceptions to clean-water laws for agricultural refuse, and block funding for rules to tax and regulate marijuana in the District of Columbia....

...The provision would temporarily suspend rules that took effect last year while a study is conducted about the number of trucks driven on congested roads. Under the change, truckers would be able to work as many as 82 hours a week....

82 hours is insane. There are only 168 hours in a week, allowing for 8 hours rest per day, leaves 112 hours for living. If 82 hours of that is spent driving, there is 40 hours per week for commuting, shopping, being with the kids and some sort of family activities. It's crazy. They have taken a 40 hour work week into the personal time of truck drivers.

That doesn't even begin to address fatigue and safety on the road. One of the key factors Jeb Bush has in his crony bag of tricks for the election of 2016 is passing legislation to provide DRIVERLESS trucks on the road. We now see why, human beings actually have limited capacity to provide for truck operations 24-7.

According to "All Trucking. com, there are approximately 3.5 million professional truck drivers in the United States, according to estimates by the American Trucking Association. The total number of people employed in the industry, including those in positions that do not entail driving, exceeds 8.7 million.

If truck drivers were replaced by "Drive by wire" the USA economy would enter a recession for the impact of the loss of income to all those people.

It never surprises me how Republicans cater to cronies only to allow the economy of the country to deteriorate. If there are drive by wire trucks, there will drive by wire taxis. Only when the US economy tanks again and again and again will Republicans understand how completely this disrespect the working people of the USA. Republicans like to paint themselves as the party of the small business. Where!!!! Because independent truck drivers and taxi owners are small business people.

Cars and deer can be a lethal combination. (click here) An increase in urban sprawl and more roads being built through wildlife habitats have displaced deer from their natural habitat, leading to a rise in deer-vehicle collisions, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I)

Deer migration and mating season generally runs from October through December, and causes a dramatic increase in the movement of the deer population. As a result, more deer-vehicle collisions occur in this period than at any other time of year, so drivers need to be especially vigilant....

There are 200 deaths per year caused by deer and vehicle collisions. Deer won't be drive by wire savvy. The entire idea that driverless vehicles will solve all the problems on the road is sheer nonsense.

...The plan includes a proposal pushed by the National Rifle Association that lets gun manufacturers use lead to produce ammunition, and a labor provision exempting claim adjusters from overtime requirements during major disasters....

It is obvious now that the next two years will be nothing but an attempt to roll back all the gains Americans have made since President Obama took office. The Republicans are setting the chronometers to January 19, 2009. 

How does the USA ever find the justice to say "I'm sorry" to a man with 40 years of his life lost to a lie?

December 9, 2014
By Elahe Lzadi

Kwame Ajamu (click here) was just 17 when he was convicted of murder in the killing of a Cleveland money-order salesman. On Tuesday, Ajamu, now 57 and out on parole since 2003, wept after a judge cleared all charges against him.

“I’m so happy today that this battle had come to an end,” Ajamu said, according to Reuters. Cuyahoga County Judge Pamela Barker stepped down from her bench to give Ajamu a hug, the Associated Press reported.

The case against Amaju, formerly known as Ronnie Bridgeman, began to fall apart after a key witness recanted his testimony decades after the conviction....