Canada should be appalled and quite frankly worried at the security breach surrounding their Prime Minister.

February 21, 2018
By Maura Forrest

Sophie Trudeau and Jaspal Atwal pictured in Mumbai Feb. 20. The Trudeaus attended a business and cultural event in the city that evening celebrating Indian cinema.

...But Jaspal Atwal, (click here) who was photographed with Sophie Grégoire Trudeau and Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi at an event in Mumbai on Tuesday, already had something of a history of inserting himself into Canadian Liberal politics before he was invited to the event on Thursday by MP Randeep Sarai. 

Here’s what we know about Atwal, including his criminal history and his ties to federal and provincial politics. 

Atwal was once a member of the International Sikh Youth Federation, an extremist group aiming to establish an independent Khalistan that was banned in Canada as a terrorist group in 2003. He was one of four men who shot and wounded an Indian cabinet minister, Malkiat Singh Sidhu, on Vancouver Island in 1986, and was convicted of attempted murder for his part in the attack. He served jail time and was later paroled.

Atwal was also charged with a 1985 attack on former B.C. premier and Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh, a vocal opponent of the Sikh separatist movement, but was later acquitted.... 

No one believes a man that has already served his time for previous wrong doing should have his freedom infringed upon more than necessary, but, this was a surprise to the Canadian delegation and that is more than a concern.

Mr. Atwal's previous affiliations seem to still be his interest.

Jaspal Atwal, (click here) who was active in banned International Sikh Youth Federation, posed with Canadian PM's wife at event in Mumbai.

A former agent for a then terrorist organization cannot simply show up for tea and crumpets. Mr. Atwal needs to denounce his previous affiliations and show real reason to be considered a person of interest to an international dialogue.

Khalistān is supposed to be in the Punjab region of South Asia. The territorial definition of the proposed country Khalistan ranges from the Punjab, including Lahore, to parts of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Rajasthan.

Only a couple of weeks ago there was renewed fighting in this region that extends since November of last year. How can anyone still affiliated with such unrest be part of an international delegation that isn't engaged in any peace initiative?

December 25, 2017

Minister of State (click here) for Home Hansraj Ahir has said Pakistan has violated the ceasefire along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir 771 times till December 10, and 110 times along the IB till November-end.

Like, ahh, I don't think so.

A fresh initiative to bring in peace in restive Jammu and Kashmir, tightening the noose on “erring” NGOs and cross-border firing-related incidents kept the Union Home Ministry busy in 2017. Violence perpetrated by Maoists, prolonged agitation in Darjeeling demanding a separate Gorkhaland state and providing help to states to maintain law and order were some of the other issues that the ministry had to deal with over the year....

Do NOT. DO NOT EVER....recruit children to carry out the responsibility of government.

...Based on his recommendation, the Jammu and Kashmir government has already taken an initiative to withdraw cases against around 5,000 youths who were accused of pelting security forces with stones and identified as “first time offenders”....

How is India to move forward to ALL THE PEOPLE when this level of hatred continues to exist. It is unconscionable to believe someone like Jaspar Atwal would be included in any international effort to expand trade relations in hopes of moving forward with a peaceful India?

Mr. Atwal needs to denounce his previous activities and ask for forgiveness in ever thinking those levels of discord and violence could ever be a part of an international community that recognizes a better way with peace than continued civil unrest with potential war and continued instability in the region.

Mr. Atwal has a role in the region and that is to bring an end to the hatred and divisions he once caused.

Trump speaks out of both sides of his mouth.

February 12, 2018
By Lee Min-hyung

North Korea has praised its highest-ranking Olympics delegation (click here) for its recent visit to South Korea where it built momentum for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

"The North Korean delegation helped improve relations between the two Koreas, paving the way for establishing a peaceful environment on the peninsula," the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) said Monday.

This came a day after the delegation - led by Kim Yong-nam, the ceremonial head of the regime - returned to Pyongyang after ending its three-day visit to Seoul and PyeongChang on the sidelines of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

This is the first time since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un took office in 2011 that the regime has expressed a strong willingness to enhance bilateral ties with the South through sports diplomacy.

The state-run news agency noted that a group of highest-ranking South Korean officials enjoyed music performances by the regime's 140-member Samjiyon Orchestra.

"President Moon Jae-in and the first lady watched the performance by our art troupe on Sunday, and the concert won explosive applause from the audience," it added.

Kim Yo-jong, younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, also watched the performance with the South Korea dignitaries, the KCNA reported. They included Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon....

February 13, 2018

Washington — The Trump administration, (click here) scrambling to avoid a rift with an ally, has told South Korea it is open to holding preliminary talks with North Korea, according to two senior administration officials and a spokesman for the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in.

The decision, which came after Vice President Mike Pence attended the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and met with Mr. Moon, reflects how thoroughly the diplomatic channel between the North and South has upended the administration’s calculations.

For months, the White House has rejected the idea of meeting with North Korea unless it took measurable steps toward giving up its nuclear stockpile and curbing its provocative behavior. Now, though, with Mr. Moon determined to engage with the North, these officials said the administration has decided on a course correction.

The decision was a victory for South Korea. “The United States, too, looks positively at South-North Korean dialogue and has expressed its willingness to start dialogue with the North,” Mr. Moon said on Tuesday, according to his spokesman, Kim Eui-kyeom....

Conservative, White America simply cannot stand for the idea of peace on the Korean Peninsula. Trump and his unilateral political game playing is proving to be an unreliable peace partner. 

February 28, 2018
By Steve Holland, Christine Kim

Washington/Seoul (Reuters) - The United States (click here) said on Friday it was imposing its largest package of sanctions against North Korea, intensifying pressure on Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons and missile programmes....

...“We imposed today the heaviest sanctions ever imposed on a country before,” Trump said in an address to a conservative activist group in Washington. “And ... hopefully something positive can happen, we will see.”...

...Harry Kazianis, director of defense studies at the conservative Center for the National Interest, said, “Cumulatively speaking, the sanctions imposed on North Korea in total since 2017 are some of the biggest ever imposed on a nation state.”

Tougher sanctions may jeopardise the latest detente between the two Koreas, illustrated by the North’s participation in the Winter Olympics in the South, amid preparations for talks about a possible summit between North Korea’s Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in....

By jeopardizing the peace process on the Koran Peninsula, it creates artificial pressure on allies that should be involved jointly in the process. Peace on the Korean Peninsula has to include the region, which means Japan has a stake in the outcome as well.

February 21, 2018
By Tom O'Connor

North Korea (click here) has urged South Korea to join forces in rejecting Japan’s claims to a tiny set of disputed islets in the Sea of Japan, called the East Sea by the Koreas.

Both Koreas consider the two islands and their surrounding rocks—known collectively as Dokdo in Korean, Takeshima in Japanese and the Liancourt Rocks in the U.S.—as part of the Korean Peninsula’s territory, while Japan claims them as their own. The islets are administered by South Korea, but the dispute once again made local headlines when the Olympic International Committee omitted a tiny blue dot signifying the islets from the Korean Unification Flag jointly held by the North and South Korea teams at the ongoing 2018 Winter Olympics.

North Korea quickly blamed “Japanese reactionaries” attempting to discredit Korean claims to the islets. On Wednesday, official North Korean Cabinet newspaper Minju Joson published a commentary calling on South Korea to stand up to fellow U.S. ally Japan on one of the very few issues the Korean Peninsula foes agree on.

“The south side should come to its senses, raise its voice for defending the sovereignty and dignity of the nation and categorically reject the foreign forces’ imprudent interference in the above-said issue,” the article said, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency....

All these issues should be part of a peace process that would bring regional peace and stability; and not cause greater tensions between countries in the region. Trump is neglecting his responsibility to allies engaged with North Korea and quite possibly China to bring about peace, rather than divided loyalties. I don't believe Mnuchin's sanctions will do anything, quite frankly. There are larger stakes today than before.

What kind of business model exists that provides for a soft landing for the business owner? Why is Trump wealthy and his contractors in debt? I didn't know "slick" was a business model in the USA provided under law.

February 21, 2018
By Tom Winter, Hallie Jackson and Kenzi Abou-Sabe

...Maloni told NBC News (click here) last year that the loan was repaid in December.

Manafort's LLC, Summerbreeze, then took out a new $9.5 million loan in December using the Hamptons property and house in Alexandria, Virginia, as part of the collateral. The lender was Federal Savings Bank of Chicago, whose chief executive, Calk, was an economic adviser to the Trump campaign.

In January 2017 Federal Savings Bank also lent Manafort and his wife mortgage loans in the amount of $5.3 million and $1.2 million for a separate property located at 377 Union Street in Brooklyn, New York.

The loans for the 377 Union property totaled 6.5 million and were for a property that Manafort initially bought for less than $3 million.

Between the Hamptons property and the Brooklyn property the Federal Savings Bank loaned Manafort $16 million or 5 percent of all of the bank's loans, according to records kept by the FDIC....

Am I understanding that right? All the loans made by "Federal Savings Bank" amounted to $320 million for those two years, 2016 and 2017. Manafort received 5 percent of that $320 in the way of $16 million. Five percent. Five percent puts him in a position that Trump always enjoyed in that he indirectly owned the bank if he was to declare bankruptcy without refinancing to keep the bank open.

5 percent of the value of all the loans for two years. That is amazing. These guys are real operators, aren't they?

That is what bothers me about Trump and his properties, like the gold hotel in Las Vegas. Trump embarks on these investments with abandon and then declares bankruptcy under Chapter 11 to keep the property and rid himself of debt in order to save the banks. It is not an occasional business model that goes bad without warning, these are pre-meditated bankruptcies.

No one can build a gold covered hotel and pay for it's construction. That simply isn't possible. Trump brings contractors into his properties believing they are going to see significant profits to their contract, but, eventually these contractors loss considerable assets and quite possibly go bankrupt themselves due to Trump's plans.

Now, Manafort is doing the exact same thing. While I am sure it is nice to own extravagant homes, they provide a venue for loans that are extraordinary. I doubt if Paul Manafort and his wife ever intended to pay back those loans in completion. Just like Trump. Isn't that fraud?

There has to be a way to discern sincere business contracts with the idea of paying them in earnest when something goes awry and bankruptcy is the only way out. There was either a good investment in the beginning and something went wrong in the market place, like the bottom fell out of the tourism economy into Las Vegas and the ability to pay contracts simply dried up. That as opposed with Trump properties time and again. No business model is that bad all the time to allow wealth to be accumulated by a family that owed so much to so many others. It all seems rather questionable to me.

I realize this is quid pro quo. It raises other questions. 

Three tornadoes touched down in Texas night before last. Now, just flooding.

February 21, 2018
2230.38z
UNISYS (partically impaired because of pandering to Russia) water vapor satellite of the north and west hemisphere (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)

February 21, 2018
By Max Golembo

A stalled frontal boundary (click here) continues to bring flooding rain, severe storms, freezing rain and snow from Texas to Michigan. More than 5 inches of rain has been reported in parts of Midwest over the last 24 hours sending many rivers into major flooding....

There were at least 30 homes damaged.

February 20, 2018
10:35 p.m.

A motorist stops to clear ice from his wipers along I-70 near Lawrence, Kan., 
Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018. The area is under a winter weather advisory. 

The National Weather Service (click here) now says it was three tornadoes that hit North Texas.

It says two of the twisters struck early Tuesday in a rural area near Joshua, destroying at least two mobile homes and severely damaging several others. A mother and her disabled daughter were injured when one tornado demolished their mobile home.

The third tornado struck a short time later in the Dallas suburb of DeSoto. No injuries were reported there.

The weather service says all three tornadoes were weak EF0 ones with winds ranging from 65 to 85 mph (105 to 137 kph).

After the tornadoes came the rain. Up to 4? inches of it fell in the Dallas-Fort Worth area by 8 p.m. Tuesday, causing some flooding....

It won't work.It is an added danger to children in the classroom and it takes time to unlock them.

There is nothing to stop an attack from outside either. The shooters can come with body armor, too.

That is the biggest problem with Republican leaders and legislators, they shoot from the hip with ideas that are populous, but, have no real effect.

February 22, 2018

US President Donald Trump (click here) has said arming teachers could prevent school shootings like that which left 17 people dead last week in Florida.

A staff member with a gun could end an attack "very quickly", he said.

Mr Trump floated the proposal - long-championed by the powerful NRA gun lobby - as emotional survivors of the 14 February massacre urged him to take measures to stop similar attacks.

The US leader called for improved background checks on gun buyers.

"It's not going to be talk like it's been in the past," he said....

There will be fatal incidents in the classroom because there was a gun present. Guns are turned against the owner, too. There is no answer besides gun control.

April 28, 2016

6/19/2017 - Guns (click here) are responsible for the death or injury of over 7,000 children in America each year. And child gun injuries and deaths may be even more prevalent in the United States than we realized.

Fatal incidents (click here) involving toddlers and guns, including a deadly shooting this week in Milwaukee, are far more common than you might think.

The latest victim was Patrice Price, a 26-year-old Milwaukee mother, who was killed when her 2-year-old son fired a handgun he’d found in the backseat of a car. Officials say the .40-caliber gun apparently slid out from underneath the driver’s seat as Price drove her boyfriend’s car, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The toddler then picked up the gun and fired it, hitting his mother in the back.

The boy was the 77th child to fire a gun accidentally and harm someone in the U.S. so far this year, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control advocacy group. That number includes children age 17 and younger....

There is something very wrong here and it isn't porn.

"Unfortunately, just five days after 17 people were gunned down at a Florida school, the Florida House just passed a bill that declares pornography a 'public health risk,'" state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D, told the Independent. "Basically, what they have determined is that these are the Republican priorities in 2018: Wasting our time with debate and legislation that declares porn as a health threat, meanwhile we can't even get a single debate, vote, or hearing on anything related to assault weapons."

Best I can tell the CDC is still focused on saving lives from the flu.

February 20, 2018
By Kristi L. Nelson

At least 10 Tennessee children (click here) have died of flu this season, the Tennessee Department of Health said Tuesday.

The state health department confirmed two more children had died of flu-related complications, for a total of four children in East Tennessee and six in Middle Tennessee. A pregnant woman in Middle Tennessee also has died from flu complications this season.

The state does not track adult deaths related to flu, but it and the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention track flu-related deaths of children and pregnant women. Nationally, as of Feb. 16, child deaths totaled at least 84 for this season.

Only 26 percent of those children eligible to have the flu shot had it this season before they got sick, the CDC said Friday....

There is no scientific basis for declaring porn a health habit. What there seems to be is ridiculous articles claiming all kinds of reasons why it is a health issue. This article (click here) pretends to be scientific by listing numbers after words, sentences or paragraphs, but, there are no references at the end of anywhere else for that matter linked to the numbers. It is all populous nonsense.

February 2, 2018
By Ryan Hughes

Tallahassee, Fla. (WFLA) – Flu activity (click here) in Florida was at higher levels than the highest points in previous flu seasons, according to this week’s flu report from the Florida Department of Health.

The report says flu activity is high and increased sharply for the third week in a row from Jan. 21 to 27, 2018.

The flu is blamed for the deaths of two children from Jan. 21 to 27, raising the total number of pediatric deaths to five this flu season.

The report said 317 pneumonia and influenza-related deaths were reported from Jan. 14 to 20, 2018. The number of deaths for the week of Jan. 21 to 28 were not included in the report.

The state health department said deaths due to pneumonia and influenza were higher than expected and are expected to increase over the coming weeks. Most deaths occurred in people aged 65 years and older. The majority of deaths in people aged 64 years and younger occurred in people with underlying health conditions (74%)....

The only way lawmakers will listen to students under 18 is if they can vote or spend money for gunmakers.

Blue indicates a state that allows 17-year olds who will turn 18 on or before election day to vote in caucuses or primaries.

(Red) States that allow 17-year-olds to participate in presidential caucuses, but may not vote in primary elections for other offices.

People are very confused about what gun control is and what it is not. The young people applauding actually want to carry assault weapons into school. They believe they can react quick enough to stop an attack on them. That is not possible. The gunman in the Florida school took all of 12 seconds to gun down many people, including staff.

The Second Amendment is not about gunning down people that may or may not want to kill an array of students and faculty. The way the Gun Rights folks put it is that assault weapons are necessary in our society to protect from DANGEROUS GOVERNMENT. Does anyone believe assault weapons are to be strapped on a person daily to protect from mass murderers such as the one in Florida? That is not realistic and there will be unnecessary deaths if such allowances are provided.

Gun control is about PREVENTING unnecessary deaths, not interrupting attempts to carry them out. There is no way, under current law, the Las Vegas mass murderer can be stopped. The problem and difference between assault weapons and hand guns is the problem with mass deaths. Hand guns are for personal protection and assault weapons are about mass deaths.

There is a huge difference between gun rights regarding personal safety and that of allowing mass murder. Everyone allows the exploitation of Americans for profits when it comes to assault weapons. There is no place for them in today's society. Lawmakers point to the sentences for murder AFTER the fact as a means of preventing such incidents. There is no law regarding mass murder that prevents the crime. The people arming themselves and carrying out these crimes are convinced they are going to survive the attack and carry out either more such attacks or will go back to their own lives. These people are not rational. They don't care about a death penalty, they believe they are bringing their own justice to others.

The Las Vegas murderer positioned himself in the hotel to survive any attack from the ground and/or an approach from the hallway. He was armed to kill every human being that would have any effect on his ability to kill others. He PLANNED to not only "kill for the thrill" at the hotel in Las Vegas, but, then to go on to continue to kill in other places. These are not rational people.

The idea the deaths in Florida could have been averted if 18 year olds could purchase weapons is playing on false ideas. How many 18 year olds are in the Florida school where the deaths occurred? The propaganda surrounding assault weapons is thick and plays on fear. One needs to ask, would Cruz be able to carry out his crime if assault weapons were not available? THAT is the question and the solution, not providing access to assault weapons by 18 year olds.

PROPAGANDA about assault weapons is as dangerous as the weapons themselves. If the USA government turned against the people, that is a problem for the people, NOT THE PERSON. Solutions to evil government is not about having organized militias at the ready, it is about "the people" in a democracy to organize allies and themselves to end what would be a civil war. If the USA engaged in a civil war, the people would have more armaments against a miniacle  government than we could ever imagine. There are plenty of people in power in other countries that would want to end such events. I am not worried about a federal government gone bad that acts violently against the people.

The Revolutionary War was won with allies to the colonists, not the British being outnumbered. I don't lose sleep over the USA military storming the city.

Where is Joe Biden when you need him? If anyone can talk to young people about such issues, it is he.

February 21, 2018
By Brendan Farrington, Josh Replogle and Tamara Lush

Survivors of the Florida school shooting (click here) descended on the state's Capitol on Wednesday and had one overarching message: It's time for action.

The kids split into several groups to talk with lawmakers and other state leaders about gun control, the legislative process, and mental health issues. Some tearfully asked why civilians should be allowed to have weapons such as the AR-15, which was used in the attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School exactly one week ago.

When Florida's Senate President Joe Negron heard the question, he didn't directly answer: "That's an issue that we're reviewing." When another lawmaker said he supported raising the age to buy assault-style weapons to 21 from 18, the students broke into applause.

The Florida Senate opened its session by showing pictures of all 17 victims in the attack....

Nineteen years of lies is illegal. This is corruption to the public rhelm. The investigation should not be difficult. Everyone admits to it.

There is a reason Donald Trump would take a personal interest in the winning contestants. His image.

February 26, 2018
By Jeffery Toobin

...From 1996 to 2015, (click here for audio) Donald Trump co-owned the Miss Universe Organization, which also included the Miss U.S.A. and Miss Teen U.S.A. pageants. A day or two before a pageant began, Trump would casually visit the contestants while they conducted their final rehearsals. Former contestants told me that Trump would circulate among the young women, shaking hands and chatting with each of them, periodically turning to speak with Paula Shugart, the president of the Miss Universe Organization, who followed him at a discreet distance. (Paula Shugart declined to comment.) Adwoa Yamoah, who competed as Miss Canada in 2012, told me, “He made comments about every girl: ‘I’ve been to that country.’ ‘We’re building a Trump Tower there.’ It was clear the countries that he liked did well. He’d whisper to Paula about the girls, and she’d write it down. He basically told us he picked nine of the top fifteen.” Kerrie Baylis, who was Miss Jamaica in 2013, described a similar scene and added that, when the finalists were announced, “the list looked like the countries that Donald Trump did business with, or wanted to do business with.” Shi Lim, who competed that year as Miss Singapore, told me, “The finalists were picked by Trump. He was really in charge. We called it the Trump card.” (A Miss Universe spokeswoman said that the pageant rules allowed the company’s staff, including Trump, to participate in naming the finalists.)...

The meddling is confirmed. The president should not be pandering to Russia any longer.

I think this is a rather iconic photo. Trump is obviously more grateful for Russia's friendship than the other way around. While campaigning for President, Donald Trump became a popular figure among the Russian people. The photos with Trump by Russian officials of Putin's party has been a real propaganda moment.

It boggles the imagination (click here) to the extent the Kushner Cos. may have benefited while he attended Davos. The conflict of interest is definitely an ethics violation and quite possibly more.

January 16, 2018

By Tom O'Conner

Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, on July 7, 2017. Trump entered office as a political ally of Putin but has since found it difficult to make good on his promise of restoring ties between the leading powers.

President Donald Trump (click here) has reportedly expressed his interest in establishing talks between the U.S. and Russia in a bid to restore relations between the world's top two military powers.

Trump delivered a highly anticipated speech Friday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he asserted his "America First" stance to world leaders, business moguls and other prominent figures. While Trump has stressed prioritizing U.S. interests above all others, he entered office a year ago promising better ties with Russia. Widespread accusations of the Kremlin meddling in the 2016 presidential election and other foreign policy differences, however, have marred this initiative, which he appeared willing to rekindle Friday....

Davos, a retreat for secret meetings.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (click here) has hit out at the European Union, accusing the bloc of pushing Balkan states to choose between the West and Russia as he warned Brussels would only increase tensions in Europe....

The video doesn't really translate well, but, I am hoping the audio is interesting. The video is entitled "Trump and Putin's First Meeting" which is difficult to see from this "imbed."

There is a great deal of callousness by the police in this video.

February 21, 2018
By Corey Jones

Tulsa police (click here) on Tuesday released video from a Dec. 25 officer-involved shooting that involved a naked man who reportedly pointed a gun at an officer in the 1100 block of South Wheeling Avenue.

Evidently, there is another video showing the shooting. This is the video of a supervisor inspecting the scene. The man shot is lying in the road with at least three cruisers on the street. There is never any CPR or attempt at First Aid by the police officers even after a shooting.

Killing and dying of a subject is not the responsibility of the police, it is the responsibility of a jury. I have to wonder how many times a suspect could be alive and in the ER instead of allowed to die on the street.

A police's gun is about survival of the officer. It is not about apprehending suspects. It is why when a suspect is running away the officers are not allowed to fire their weapon. When will police work return to it's original purpose, to serve and protect, even suspects that appear to want to kill cops.

This video serves no purpose to support the officers that responded to this disturbance. It provides no real information to the public, except, officers don't bother to care for the injured. The officer's camera states the person shot has a pulse, but, admits it is agonal breathing. At no time does any officer attempt to stop the bleeding or administer CPR. The officers decided the death sentence, not a jury. It is one thing to do everything possible at the scene and have the suspect die in the process, it is another thing to allow someone to die at the scene without lifting a finger.

Only Democrats are concerned about extravagance in spending in the Department of Energy?

I guess it all must be political then. The elected Senate, House and Executive Branch can spend, spend, spend and never worry a day about the cost to taxpayers.

February 21, 2018
By Valerie Volcovici

Washington - Democrats on the House (click here) energy committee on Tuesday asked Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt to explain travel records that recently came to light, which showed he has taken frequent first-class flights at taxpayer expense.

The Democrats wrote a letter asking Pruitt to provide a list of all dates where he traveled in first or business class, an explanation on how he followed guidelines for obtaining waivers for premium travel and the names of other staff who also traveled in premium class....

• 
  

Are we placing profits before young American lives?

In anticipation of backlash from the events in Florida, the CEO of Blackrock gave an interview to CNBC stating he has changed his view of American stocks.

"Blackrock upgrades US stocks on stong earnings" (click here) The DOW just dropped 300 points because of Walmart. Just sayin'.

Demand divesting of gun stocks. It is my understanding Blackrock owns the most.

December 10, 2018

A number of big investors (click here) are hitting the bull's-eye on this year's big rally in gun stocks.

Nine investment firms, including BlackRock, Vanguard and London Company of Virginia, are currently top five holders of at least one of the three publicly traded stocks with the heaviest concentration on firearms. Altogether these nine investment firms, which have consistently owned shares of Smith & Wesson (SWHC), Sturm, Ruger (RGR) or Vista Outdoor (VSTO), have made more than $500 million this year on these investments, according to a USA TODAY analysis of data from S&P Capital IQ.

Shares of these gun stocks have enjoyed powerful rallies this year as consumers continue to stockpile weapons following a somewhat slower period of demand in 2014. Investors are betting consumers fearing tighter gun control could make obtaining weapons more difficult might speed up purchases. Shares of Smith & Wesson, Sturm, Ruger and Vista Outdoor, which makes guns and ammo, are up 129%, 63% and 24%, respectively this year....         

How many Russian groups conducting influence in the USA for the 2016 elections organized as a 501(c)4?

To be tax-exempt as a social welfare organization (click here) described in Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 501(c)(4), an organization must not be organized for profit and must be operated exclusively to promote social welfare. The earnings of a section 501(c)(4) organization may not inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual. If the organization engages in an excess benefit transaction with a person having substantial influence over the organization, an excise tax may be imposed on the person and any managers agreeing to the transaction. See Introduction to IRC 4958 for more information about this excise tax. For a more detailed discussion of the exemption requirements for section 501(c)(4) organizations, see IRC 501(c)(4) Organizations....

The 501(c)4 tax exemption was widely used during the Bush years. The PACs as they are known use this tax exemption to raise money. How many of the Russian organizations to influence elections were using USA laws to raise money?

Where did the funding come from? Did they accept donations as well?

...Except (click here) that their English sometimes seemed a little odd.

“We are looking for friendship because we are fighting for the same reasons,” someone purporting to be with an online group calling itself Blacktivist wrote via Twitter to the Rev. Dr. Heber Brown III, a Baltimore pastor, in April 2016. “Actually we are open for your thoughts and offers.”

In late October 2016, in Nederland, Tex., the Texas Nationalist Movement got a Facebook message from someone representing a group called Heart of Texas, which planned to organize rallies in favor of Texas secession on the eve of the election. But on a follow-up call, “something was off,” said Daniel Miller, the president of the Texas Nationalist Movement.

Despite their wariness, neither Dr. Brown nor Mr. Miller had any inkling of what was really behind those odd encounters. Heart of Texas and Blacktivist were phony groups, part of a sweeping Russian disinformation campaign that was funded with millions of dollars and carried out by 80 people operating out of St. Petersburg, Russia.

The Russian attempt at long-distance choreography was playing out in many cities across the United States. Facebook has disclosed that about 130 rallies were promoted by 13 of the Russian pages, which reached 126 million Americans with provocative content on race, guns, immigration and other volatile issues....

Where is the money today? PACs can carry funds into other elections. Can the PACs be funded by those running for election?

In other words, Paul Ryan received billions from the Koch Brothers. He is stated to have passed it on to other members of his party for the elections in 2018. Can Paul Ryan pass on monies to 501(c)4s that carry their parties interest and so-called political ideologies such as anti-abortionists?

Facebook received monies from these Russian groups and ran their ads. Where is the money now? If Facebook received monies from these Russians, including those indicted, the money was illegitimately received and needs to be returned to the USA government to help cover the costs of the investigations protecting the sovereign state of the USA.

It is bribery. They are monies provided to subvert the sovereignty of the USA. The Russians played their ludicrous gaming of the USA elections for the purpose of undermining the authority of the USA. The Russians wanted a sympathizer and chief in the Oval Office. That was the purpose of these groups, where is the money?

What about Dr. Brown and Mr. Miller? Where are any monies they received from Russians? It is fine they didn't know who they were dealing with and are innocent of crimes, but, how much money is circulating in the political realms and in profits by companies carrying these illegitimate ads?

I can simply picture some Americans having received illegitimate monies laughing about having taken the Russians for a lot of American greenbacks.

Where is the money Russia dumped into the USA elections of 2016?

How much money was it?

I want the monies, Russia and Russians have either raised or organized around or simply deposited somewhere in safe keeping, PUT IN THE USA TREASURY to pay for the investigations and court costs and I want it now!

There better not be any of those monies still in circulation to effect future elections. It is illegitimate monies and no different than cash that drug dealers are found to have, it belongs to the USA government to pay for the problems these people have caused.

Did the Trump Campaign receive any monies from these groups and/or Russians to benefit his and his Vice President's election? Mr. Trump is known to have used monies of his own, however, he was also accepting monies from donations to allow voters and organizations to feel they were invested in his outcome. I want to know if any of the Russian monies are in the political party's campaign funds, too.

This ad is pure racism. It is a Russian ad.

How many promises did Donald Trump make and then keep as President that involves his electorate effected by these ads.

It is religious bigotry as well. There are American Caucasians that are Muslim. So, I apologize, it is not SIMPLY racism, but, religious bigotry as well.

Where does this influence stop and how much of this disastrous mess are we still containing within our politics today?

Political polls about the issues should reveal where voters are, have been and do they continue to reflect the hate created by the Russian influence?

The United States of America is morally bankrupt.

Our hearts go out to the victims and families of the #FloridaShooting.

#America is a society destroying itself from within, an empire in decline, it can never be great again. A culture that loves guns more than children has no future other than corruption, decline and death.

Fr Rod.

The only thing I ever had to worry about was a fire alarm.

They need congressional hearings. It is their lives.

April 20, 1999. I remember it like it was yesterday. My oldest son had graduated high school two years before and my youngest son was a senior. I couldn't wait for the year to be over.

It only took one shooting to pass an assault weapon ban. The weapons are always the same. There is no guess work. As many bullets as can be carried in a clip and as fast as they can be released to kill, injure and maim children. 

To the left is the Intratec TEC-DC 9, Klebold's weapon of choice. It doesn't matter the species of gun, it is always the same, bullets come streaming out of the muzzle and in seconds high school students are dead.

George Walker Bush, "W," let the assault weapon ban sundown when it simply needed review and updating. Ever since that day, the gun sales in the USA are paid for with the blood of American children.

The gun lobby claims it is their right to carry in any way they want. Well, it is the high school students right to make it to graduation without fear of zealot White Supremacists entering history for the most students killed in American history.

These lives are more precious than a gun activists right to have any kind of gun under the sun!

By the way, it is ludicrous to argue about the number of school killings since the beginning of 2018. What is wrong everyone? Isn't one enough anymore?

February 19, 2018

By Rachel Chason

Seventeen high school students (click here) lay down for three minutes in front of the White House on Monday to represent the lives lost during the shooting at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and the amount of time it takes to buy a gun....

They were joined by several hundred protesters who demanded that lawmakers act to end gun violence during an emotional demonstration on Presidents’ Day.

The D.C. protest echoed those orchestrated in Parkland, Fla., and beyond by teenagers who are emerging as powerful advocates for stronger gun control following one of the worst mass shootings at a school in U.S. history.

“This could be a breaking point,” said Whitney Bowen, 16, an organizer of the D.C. protest. “We’re still just 16, but at least we’re old enough to have our voices be heard.”...