The value of Malala to #MeToo.

Global oppression of women can accompany the ideas behind the movement of #MeToo. In Pakistan, the abuse of women and profound danger in their lives for being nothing more than female has abated since the country found virtue in Malala's message.

Today, a Pakistan experiencing relief for women, now finds itself feeling the fear of encroachment of oppression again. For Pakistan, the #MeToo movement is an opportunity for men to engage in old practices by recalling old-world religious roles and victimization.

It is up to women to prevent such loss of human rights ("Women's rights are human rights and human rights are women's rights."). Sexual harassment and sexual assault when viewed through the lens of other countries where rape is a punishment for flirtatious behavior or to bring shame to a family by village elders; cries not to the past, but, to the future.

The very same ideas that hated girls for attending school are the same voices of oppression of women today. The future belongs to the voices in Pakistan men, women, girls and boys, that see a future where village elders have been the corrupting influence of life.

May 4, 2018

...The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (click here) on Friday sent a violation notice to Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) slamming two Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders for their misogynist remarks against women of PTI.

In the letter sent to PEMRA by the PTI central secretariat, both Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and Federal Minister of Water and Power Abid Sher Ali were lambasted for using inappropriate language for the women of PTI and the women that attend their rally....

Pakistan has made immeasurable progress in recent years. The power within that women's movement has brought freedom of expression and potential and real careers that add to the quality of life for women and their families. Pakistani women are becoming greater and greater treasures to the country and the future of all it's people. And let's also realize happiness is a women's right and today more women experience happiness than ever before.

May 4, 2018
By Rana Yasif

The Punjab Assembly on Friday (click here) passed a bill making the teaching of the Holy Quran compulsory in schools across the province.

The bill, Compulsory Teaching of the Holy Quran Bill 2017, makes it mandatory for children in grade one to five to recite the scripture in Arabic, while children in grade six and above will be required to recite the Holy Quran along with the translation.

The provincial legislature also passed another bill aiming to regulate the use of loudspeakers in mosques....

The increased freedom of women in Pakistan has improved the overall quality of life of all citizens. Women still love men, they still long for a family and find joy in being married. There is nothing that is going to change that. When elders fear for the country in requiring compulsory religious education, the Pakistani legislature needs to be reminded of it's place in advancing the quality of life of all the people and not just the narrow path of a few. 

May 3, 2018
By Mino Nasar

Random thought: (click here) With this entire #MeToo global epidemic on the rise, I am beginning to realise that ISLAM was right all along when it ordains gap between the 2 genders. So called modernism has brought us to a point where the line between flirting & harassment is insanely blurred.

I am not going to start with a validation of how the #MeToo as a movement was so desperately needed to save us women. Frankly, my conscience could no longer bear witnessing the abuse of this narrative, most especially within the elite circles, to which all of us writing and commenting belong....

...Women of the elite are usually not shrinking violets. If anything, I have been harassed by more women than men in my life. If I were to start with my stories and named them with a hashtag on social media, all those women, with their feminist, professional careers and humanitarian credentials, would be done for. But this is not a matter to be hijacked for personal score settling. Therefore, imagine my utter surprise when I read Raja’s mean-spirited allegations against Ali Sibtain Fazli....

...Our nation may have started a transformation, thanks to the #MeToo movement. Unfortunately, in the context of Pakistan, effects are going to be much more destructive....

...This victimology will have another alarming negative impact: men avoiding collaborating with women out of fear. Only in the recent past have we seen every mainstream institution trying to hire and promote as many females as possible. The reversal of this trend will happen quietly and be largely invisible, because unlike the West, Pakistan has no set quotas for the hiring of women, and corporations are under no pressure to show proportional representation in the workforce....

...Rather than empowering women, these sensationalised allegations will result in more backlash; maybe even a call to return to the culture of the veil.

I am utterly disappointed to see the same people blaming others for doing what they have also done in front of my eyes. I refuse to be a silent witness to shameless denial when it comes to their own sins, yet such ugly display of expression when it comes to others. This is the “hypocrisy” that has and will destroy this very elite, and in the meantime, destroy the chance of justice for those women who have real stories to share for #MeToo.

The level of corruption in documentation of Flint's lead poisoning is amazing.

From the Centers of Disease Control.

A poison is any substance, including medications, that is harmful to your body if too much is eaten, inhaled, injected, or absorbed through the skin.

Exposure
Contact with a substance by swallowing, breathing, or touching the skin or eyes. Exposure may be short-term of intermediate duration, or long-term 

Let me be clear; medical terminology cannot be manipulated. The terminology is exact and it is supposed to be exact because it has been developed over the past century and quite possibly longer.  Poisoning is correct in the case of the Flint children.

The people that died of Legionnaires Disease were exposed to a bacteria that infected their bodies and caused their deaths. No matter who wants to say those people would be dead anyway of comorbidities is nonsense. The comorbidities with these adults were being managed and under doctor's care to be managed. The bacterial infection set them up for septic shock and they died.

The people of Flint were poisoned and not exposed. The lead was immediately in the water when the Flint River water interacted with the pipes and released the lead into the drinking water. That is not an exposure. The lead was permanently in that water. 

Not only were they DOSED with a poison in the water it was sustained for a year before the country found out about it and relief was obtained in the way of bottled water. Lead in the water for more than a year is not an exposure that was suddenly discovered. The Lead was KNOWN to be in the water, THE US EPA WROTE SEVERAL TIMES TO SNYDER IN REGARD TO HIS NON-COMPLANCE WITH WATER TREATMENT and the impoverished were helpless to do anything, in addition, their local government was disarmed from acting in any capacity to end the poisoning.

To be clear; the State of Michigan offices that had Flint River water in their taps at their offices were provided bottled water dispensers immediately; while the people of Flint were disregarded as important enough to immediately take action at the same time Snyder took action for his employees.

The people of Flint, Michigan were poisoned over an extensive period of time DELIBERATELY because their lives were considered insignificant for socio-economic reasons. In other words, "Flint asked for it in needing an emergency manager at all!"

The people of Flint were POISONED. End of discussion.

Hurley Medical Center needs to be sued for falsification of records and a new director for the entire hospital be found. Everyone on that panel needs to be replaced as soon as possible. These are serious ethics violations.

May 18, 2018
By Ron Fonger

Flint, MI -- Doctors at Hurley Medical Center (click here) have dumped the term "lead-poisoned" when referring to Flint children who went through the city's water crisis and adopted a replacement -- "lead-exposed."

The doctors unanimously approved a resolution at an annual meeting this week, agreeing to discontinue the use of the word "poisoned" when the medical staff communicates as a collective body, according to a posting on Hurley's Facebook page.

"Everyone agrees that there was an issue in 2014-2015 with (blood-lead levels) and that any lead level over the lifetime of a child is bad," the Facebook post from Thursday, May 17, says.

"However, a lead exposure does not equate to a lead poisoning and therefore does not equate to a damaged generation of children in the city of Flint."....

Sorry, I am late. There was a storm and I shut down electronics when the weather is bad. That is good advice and it is free.

Another school shooting today. The young adults haven't marched in awhile.

It seemed to me as long as "Not one more" was organized and marching there was far less violence. I may have missed it, but, I think this is the first shooting since Florida.

Donald Trump is not a loyal American.

On June 9, 2016, a meeting was held in Trump Tower in New York City between three senior members of the Donald Trump presidential campaign – Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort – and at least five other people, including Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. The meeting was arranged by publicist and long-time Trump acquaintance, Rob Goldstone.

The "Trump Talk" about this meeting is that the Russians had nothing to provide about Hillary Clinton and spoke about sanctions relief. Jared Kushner is stated to have left the meeting abruptly in disappointment.

WikiLeaks began to release DNC emails, on the eve of the Democratic National Convention, in July 2016.

Questions?

Don't get it?

Russia is to have been known to hack the DNC from sometime in 2015. But, after the Trump Tower Meeting, the Russians learned they needed to up their game and get Trump elected in order to receive sanction relief.

Putin never received his sanction relief and quite the contrary the US Congress passed more sanctions and Trump signed it. The Russians didn't realize enough Republicans and Democrats were not Trump loyalists.

Donald Trump, as President, provided plenty of Russian election propaganda with the meeting of the Russian Foreign Minister in the Oval Office where he provided classified information to them as well. The pictures taken were by Russian photographers. Donald Trump was and probably still is an icon to the Russian people as someone who sees the potential of an alliance with Russia over NATO. The meeting in the Oval Office with the Russians was within hours after Trump fired Comey.

The lack of reception of NATO's general by Donald Trump today is more propaganda to provide THE ILLUSION cast for the benefit of maintaining President Putin as a propaganda ally. President Trump is not a loyal American.

MS 13 is not a drug cartel. It has no direct relationship with Mexican, Central or South American cartels.

MS 13 is also not a terrorist network. It is organized crime in the USA and in places outside the USA where it is destabilizing because of the weak governance structure.

I am not defending organized crime, but, President Trump wants to chase MS13 to end the illicit drug trade in the USA. MS13 is not the way to do that.

MS13 is not responsible for illegal immigration. The label MS13 is a network that will allow members to travel throughout it's member gangs. Why do they do that? To avoid the law. Let's say a member is wanted for extortion in Los Angeles and believes he will get caught and go to prison; why not leave the city and/or the country where he is not known and can protect from arrest.

MS13 is a symptom and not the problem.

Graph (click here)

Approximately 16 percent to 19 percent of those incarcerated in the USA are Latinos. They have three times the problem in obtaining legitimate jobs in the USA before and after they are incarcerated.

The Latino population incarcerated in the USA have to face racism, a language barrier and if they are illegals they have a limited access to work.

Let me say this up front; if any person, American or not, has a criminal record, innocent or guilty; they have a terrible time obtaining work, especially cookie cutter jobs of Wall Street. The thing with innocent people wrongly arrested and charged, is that the arrest and the charges are still on their background check. Honest. Innocent people if arrested and charged have permanent marks on their background checks. In most Wall Street cookie cutter restaurants and the like see crime on the background check; they run in the other direction. The corporate structure identifies these innocent people as high risk anyway.

So, let's take that reality one more step. When an inmate serves his or her time, also known as "debt to society," they face not just an uphill battle to find a legitimate job, but, more or less a mountain climb. That is their reality. Now, place in that SPACE a Hispanic man without a clue as to how to expunge his record or obtain work or housing and where do they turn? MS13.

Turning away from crime for many men and women in the USA is not easy. Honest. MS13 is a support group to these people. MS 13 is no different than any other gang in the USA, there is some kind of social structure that maintains it's focus. These gangs, including MS 13 are deadly. That cannot be understated, but, if the gang serves as a place where a man or woman can be protected while carrying out crime to have money in their pockets, it is then home. It is well known these gangs are just as much a presence in a prison stay as any criminal activity in the community. By the way, guns support these people as well.

So, while Mr. Trump and AG Sessions wants to end gang related violence, MS 13 is not unique. These gang members do not really have the same longevity as average Americans. Their lifestyles are exceptionally high risk and do not reflect any normal mortalities of the majority of Americans. Realizing that, the members are within the gang because they do not have alternatives.

MS13 is most commonly Hispanic because of the language and cultural barriers of it's members. MS13 is a SYMPTOM of a failed society and not a desired lifestyle. To say, MS13 is a cartel of immigrants in the USA is incorrect. It is a street gang and nothing else. There is no limiting importation of illicit drugs by focusing on MS13. The reality is that while USA law enforcement chase MS13, the drug cartels will have an open lane for their drug trafficking. Basically, focusing on MS13 will be nothing more than police chasing their tails if the purpose is to stop drug and human trafficking.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Sessions are grossly wrong on this issue and will cause less focus on drug traffickers and American deaths will increase. 

March 20, 2018
By Steven Dudley

...I spent three years (click here) at American University’s Center for Latin American and Latino Studies chronicling the MS13’s criminal exploits for the National Institute of Justice. Our study proves that MS13 is neither a drug cartel nor was it born of illegal immigration.

That misconception is fueling failed US policies that, in my assessment, will do little to deter the MS13....

...The MS13 was born in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, when scores of Salvadorans, many of them fleeing the country’s civil war, arrived to California. Like other Latino immigrant groups, the new arrivals formed a youth gang of the sort proliferating in Los Angeles at the time.

Then as now, the MS13 acted as a surrogate family for its members, though not a benign one. The MS13 created a collective identity that was constructed and reinforced by shared experiences, particularly expressions of violence and social control.

It has since spread to at least a half-dozen countries on two continents and has become a prime source of destabilizing violence, particularly extortion, in Central American countries like El Salvador and Honduras....

...In the early 2000s, one MS13 boss named Nelson Comandari tried to use the gang’s national criminal infrastructure to establish a drug distribution network. Comandari was well positioned to do it. He was powerful in Los Angeles, had underworld family connections from El Salvador to Colombia and enjoyed strong ties to the feared Mexican Mafia, a US-based prison gang with connections to Mexican cartels.

Yet within a few years Comandari was frustrated. MS13 members turned out to be inept at drug smuggling and resistant to the whole idea. Our research found that the gang frowns upon those who put their personal business above the collective’s....

...One reason the MS13 has failed so roundly at becoming a drug cartel is that it is more of a social club than a lucrative criminal enterprise. Its members benefit from the camaraderie and support that comes with membership — not the heaping monetary rewards that never arrive.

Entrepreneurs who hope to leverage its network for their personal financial gain see the same strong resistance that scuttled Comandari’s plans.

Perhaps more critically, the MS13 is a decentralized organization with no clear hierarchy. The gang is broken into local cells called “cliques” — or “clicas” in Spanish — that are more loyal to each other than to the various leadership councils that operate around Central America and the United States....

There is no leadership in Israel or Palestine that reflects reality. Each side of the conflict carry messages that work for them internationally.

There needs to be far better maps of Israel and Palestine. The original land provided for Israeli settlements was grossly inadequate.

Both Israel and Palestine are small plots of land recognized as nations of people. Both want the same exact land for their people. Israel was granted power over Palestine and the outcome today reflects that power.

If Israeli settlers are moving into the West Bank with the intention of populating the entire area, that should be ruled an international crime. It is a form of genocide and the United Nations knows it. All Israeli settlers in the West Bank need to be removed by a peacekeeper force that will defend the borders of the West Bank from aggressive and/or passive occupation by Israel.

The reason there is no allowance for Palestinians anywhere in the occupied territories is that Israel has convinced other major powers it can rule over land in peace and every person within those lands will have an opportunity for greater quality of life.

Every major power in the world is convinced Hamas is the real authority in Palestine and to validate them as leaders will only escalate the conflict. That is incorrect. Hamas is the only POWER within Palestine that is proven to hold on to land.

The international community gave the Jewish people a place on Earth where they could live without others having power over them and then left the rest of the timeline to fate. That was an error.

Israel obviously has strong allies that provide all kinds of weapons to rule the land, but, the Palestinian people are completely disarmed to protect their land and as a consequence, they have lost enormous swaths of land over the decades. My revelation, while not unique, is the impetus that will only increase the resolve of Israel to not only take the West Bank and Gaza but, to expand further into countries near their borders and beyond. The Israeli leadership today are expansionists with no determined end to their plans. Of course, they will deny that, but, it is true. Israel eyes Syria and believes it is best to rule the land and provide for all people.

There is no leadership in Israel or Washington, DC today that will allow peacekeepers on the land to protect Palestinians. The fact the USA backs Israeli ideologues should be a crime as well. The USA has a veto power within the UN Security Council and that is what maintains the conflict between the two nations of people and provides for Israeli expansion. 

NO ONE can deny Israel has expanded from the original land granted to the Jewish people. I don't want to hear there is a better solution for the region because of Israeli leadership's grandiose ideas that have worked. That is a lie. If their ideas worked there would not be dead unarmed Palestinians. There are dead unarmed Palestinians because the world believes they are violent people as defined by Israel. They are violent people because they have no other choice, ie: Gaza.

Israel has set itself on a path of expansion for decades now and it has reached it's limit. Currently, Netanyahu has plans to expand Israel at any cost under the guise of establishing peace. Israeli settlers have to leave the West Bank and Gaza has to be provided relief from persecution by Israel. The people are suffering and it needs to stop. Israel cannot continue to impose suffering as a measure to require peace. Stop demanding President Abbas bring Hamas under control, that will never happen because Abbas has not been able to end the occupation and settlements, even in the West Bank.

Current Israeli leadership is grossly inadequate to end violence in the lands. That has to be a fact the international community has to recognize. Israel has been completely unable to establish peace between the two peoples while its settlements and occupation have created an intractable circumstance. That is the truth and the international leadership must impose that value on Israel. It has an extremist ideology, no different than Palestineans at this point in history.

Israel is not capable of peace because of the power it has compared to the land it occupies. Israel, in the past, has been a beacon for all Jewish people. Its leadership has been instrumental in providing for peaceful existence for it's diaspora. That is Israel's mission. Increasing violence in the land of Israel is destroying that mission.

The current leadership in Washington, DC and Israel are capable of a war that will move borders. They are capable of creating a protracted war that will last for generations. Stop it now. Israel is wrong and outside of it's internationally recognized borders. That is the truth and the tragedy of the Palestinian people is directly related to the passive occupation of Palestinian lands.

It is proven there is no leadership in Israel capable of peace. Prime Minister Sharon was the world's last hope.

The Arab nations have to stand together to prevent opportunistic war since the end of Daesh with both Israel and Iran. The siege of Saudi Arab has to end as well. Both Israel and Iran are now fighting opportunistic wars where stabilization and normalization should be occurring. I believe sanctions of both Israel and Iran are in order if the violence does not end.

There needs to be an official map of the region. This map is completely disproportionate.

June 2018
By Wajahat Ali

Should I lie to an Israeli soldier in order to be allowed to pray? (click here) This was a theological dilemma I never studied in Sunday school, one I never thought I would have to confront.

Anxious and on edge, the soldier was standing in front of me, rifle in hand, blocking my way, and all I had to do was tell him I was 50 years old, and then I could pray at one of Islam’s holiest sites. One minor problem: I’m 37. Typically, when violence happens in the Old City of Jerusalem, Israeli authorities ban men younger than 50 from entering Haram al-Sharif, the compound known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount. And there had just been a small—by Middle Eastern standards anyway—spasm of violence. Three Palestinians had shot and killed two Israeli police officers near al-Aqsa Mosque inside Haram al-Sharif, which led to Israeli retaliations, which led to mass Palestinian protests, which led to yet another predictable round of stories datelined Jerusalem about the legendary Middle Eastern “cycle of violence.”...

LOL, Michael Cohen caused alarms at banks normally reserved for gangland and terrorists. Amazing.

May 16, 2018
By Karen DeYoung, Josh Dawsey and Rosalind Helderman

Michael Cohen, (click here) President Trump’s personal attorney, solicited a payment of at least $1 million from the government of Qatar in late 2016, in exchange for access to and advice about the then-incoming administration, according to several people with knowledge of the episode.

The offer, which Qatar declined, came on the margins of a Dec. 12 meeting that year at Trump Tower between the Persian Gulf state’s foreign minister and Michael Flynn, who became Trump’s first national security adviser. Stephen K. Bannon, who became chief White House strategist, also attended, the people said.

Cohen did not participate in the official meetings but spoke separately to a member of the Qatari delegation, Ahmed al-Rumaihi, who at the time was head of the investments division of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority....

Yes, there are laws. It is very sad the country has to realize far too late they have a gangland President besides his pedophilia. 

"Suspicious Activity Reporting" (click here)

Federal law (31 USC 5318(g)(3)) provides protection from civil liability for all reports of suspicious transactions made to appropriate authorities, including supporting documentation, regardless of whether such reports are filed pursuant to the SAR instructions. Specifically, the law provides that a bank and its directors, officers, employees, and agents that make a disclosure to the appropriate authorities of any possible violation of law or regulation, including a disclosure in connection with the preparation of SARs, "shall not be liable to any person under any law or regulation of the United States, any constitution, law, or regulation of any State or political subdivision of any State, or under any contract or other legally enforceable agreement (including any arbitration agreement), for such disclosure or for any failure to provide notice of such disclosure to the person who is the subject of such disclosure or any other person identified in the disclosure." The safe harbor applies to SARs filed within the required reporting thresholds as well as to SARs filed voluntarily on any activity below the threshold....

This is the kind of thing the FBI and CIA assess on a regular basis. It is not surprising to realize any articles under this authority was picked up by a federal agency.

If there are SARS missing, it most likely is a federal agency and/or USA attorney. I would be surprised and very disappointed if the US Treasury Secretary actually obstructed justice.

There is a reality I came to as a conservationist and environmentalist a long time ago; "The fines are simply a part of doing business." The petroleum industry has been so filthy rich it breaks the law all the time and simply pays the fines.

It is my estimation that is the case with Mr. Trump and all his associates.

There are prison terms for such lawbreakers, but, the government is more interested in getting the money than adding another person to the dependency rolls of any jail or prison. Most of the folks behind bars are poor. There are few wealthy folks there. I wish there were more old, white men behind bars for exactly these reasons.

When the government accepts fines rather than leverage jail or prison, the crimes will be committed over and over again.

This is very sad. Donald Trump and his associates are the kind of folks the FBI and CIA would normally be chasing down for breaking the law. There was absolutely no way for the American electorate to know this is what they were looking at. Trump would never reveal any records before the election.

Wow. I really want law enforcement to find the man that threatened Ms. Clifford and her daughter. He promised to make her daughter an orphan. It is time to close the loop and bring peace of mind to those brave enough to come forward. Any documents released to the public by a patriot is called a "Whistleblower" and there are laws to protect them. Most public employees have a union to represent them. I would seek out the union leadership to speak to their lawyer about such things. More than likely a federal employee cannot afford the price of DC lawyers.

I am grateful for Ms. Clifford. She is a good person. She is an adult entertainer, but, she is a good person. She values fidelity and especially the fidelity between the electorate and the people they elect. There is a certain understanding voters have about their candidates. When that understanding is violated it takes great people like Ms. Clifford to bravely come forward to set the record straight. I want her safe and her family safe. This is a huge contribution she made to the integrity of freedom in the USA. She is valuable to me.

Good night.

Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan has become a capitalist.

I am very happy for him. Bob Dylan's career sort of waxes and wanes. He composes and performs as he sees it. The truth as reflection in Dylan's work prove popularity is not substantive. In providing a product to consumers, he is providing for his income regardless of the moods of the public.

May 2, 2018
By Jahla Seppananen

You may have (click here) been excited about Wu-Tang Clan’s new vodka , but if your spirits and Spotify preferences lean toward the acoustic end of the spectrum, Bob Dylan’s new whiskey might be more your pace.

Don’t think twice — just accept that Bob freakin’ Dylan is now in the whiskey business.

In partnership with Spirits Investment Partnership (SIP), the iconic singer-songwriter has created Heaven’s Door Spirits. This won’t look like your standard whiskey line, though. Indeed, times they are a changin’, because instead of creating one type of whiskey with one master distiller, Heaven’s Door Spirits is set up to be an evolving portfolio of small-batch whiskeys in collaboration with multiple renowned distillers....

Trump, Jr. is 40 years old, leads the family's company and he can't remember a meeting.

There is no one within the circle of characters involved with Trump's campaign willing to point a finger at the boss. Why? Because, the Boss or Dear Old Dad, holds the pardon pen.

This is the perfect picture as to why the Emoluments Clause is excellent law. The Trump administration is carrying out some very dangerous agendas. The issues with Israel and Palestine could be carried out in the name of peace and justice or simply because "...they are part of the problem, not the solution...." The current self-righteous actions of the Israeli leadership resulting in deaths, maiming and wounding of unarmed Palestinians; is backed by (Part of the Problem) Jared by his words. He doesn't care about the lives of Palestinians that are part of the problem. Jared can assist in genocide without worry so long as his father-in-law holds the "Pardon Pen."

The power of the "Pardon Pen" is so important to the Trump family and associates that they will not implicate him, regardless of the truth. Given Trump's diet, the Trump family and associates should weigh a heartache of Trump when deciding not to testify against him.

Basically, the Trump bunch are stonewalling the Congress and the Special Investigation into the Russian hacking and sought influence in the 2016 election.

Case in point; Jared's peer in Israel:

May 16, 2018

Yair Netanyahu, (click here) son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, posted a controversial image saying "Fuck Turkey" on his Instagram account on Wednesday. This follows a diplomatic row between Israel and Turkey which began Tuesday, when Ankara expelled Israel's ambassador over the number of Palestinians killed during protests in the Gaza border on Monday....

This level of ENTITLEMENT is contagious. If Jared can be pardoned to carry out the will of Israel so Yair can through his father.

What these people don't realize is that there is a World Court that would welcome trials in the act of genocide. Yair Netanyahu doesn't even care Turkey is a member of NATO. Whatever the tension is between Israel and Turkey needs to end. With the attitude alone by Yair it brings a decision by the USA as to whom we have as an ally, Israel or Turkey. With Yair's attitude and words, it seems perfectly obvious that there is to be no alliance except with Israel. So, Turkey is one of those entities that are part of the problem and not the solution.

I am relieved the US Senate Judiciary Committee has found the US House finding is not legitimate in the case of Russian interference in the 2016 elections. Perhaps those on the US House Judiciary Committee are illiterate and have no capacity for anything except simpleton conclusions. 

May 16, 2018

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, (click here) R-Iowa, has released congressional testimony transcripts and other material related to the committee's inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the June 9, 2016, meeting in Trump Tower between Trump campaign officials and a Russian lawyer....

...In addition to Trump Jr., the committee interviewed four other people who attended the Trump Tower meeting in New York — publicist Rob Goldstone, who set up the meeting with the promise of dirt on Clinton; Rinat Akhmetshin, a prominent Russian-American lobbyist; Ike Kaveladze, a business associate of a Moscow-based developer, and a translator.

The committee did not interview Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer at the center of the meeting. But the panel released her written responses to a letter that Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, sent her last year.

The panel was also not able to interview Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, or Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign manager, even though both attended.

The committee also released one page of notes that Manafort took during the meeting...

...Trump Jr. told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he couldn't remember whether he had discussed the Russia investigation with his father, according to transcripts released Wednesday of his interview with the panel.

Trump Jr. deflected multiple questions during the interview, saying he couldn't recall whether he discussed the Russia probe with his father and whether he spoke with his dad on the day the meeting was arranged.

Asked if he thought it would be a problem to take a meeting billed to him as part of a Russian government effort to aid his father, Trump Jr. said no.

"I didn't think that listening to someone with information relevant to the fitness and character of a presidential candidate would be an issue, no."...

The diplomatic MISSION for the USA on the Korean Peninsula is to assist President Moon with his negotiations. This is NOT the USA negotiations. The ultimate goals of this mission is a nuclear free peninsula. 

Kim Jong Un will never give up his nukes if he believes there will be an invasion of North Korea by The West. North Korea does not have a sufficient conventional military. If North Korea or Pakistan or India (click here) had a great conventional weapons option they wouldn't have nukes. Nukes are the only way these small countries can equate the USA threat.

The Trump Administration is a threat to North Korea and the world. Why believe peace anywhere will come soon, including with Israel and the Palestinians.

Kushner.

To realize he was standing in Jerusalem with language to blame Hamas for violence while he was collecting $500,000 ($500 billion) from China that will no doubt cost the USA jobs. This is more than a disconnect, this is criminal.

Jared Kushner has a $600 million incentive (click here) to use his White House position to make money. In May, Kushner’s family company apologized for using Kushner in pitches to foreign investors, after being caught playing up his connection to the president in China. This brazen conflict of interest was an early example of what many feared about Trump’s presidency: that Trump, his family, and those around him would use the presidency to enrich themselves....

So, North Korea is getting cold feet.

I don't blame him. The USA has become bizarre. There is no way of seeing a sane and consistent path forward.

There are war games off the Korean coast. That is crazy. I am sure war games is necessary for the allies to maintain their competency, but, there should have been a more diplomatic location for those exercises.

Who in their right mind states the USA Embassy in Jerusalem "...is an election promise?" That is crazy. It is self-centered and crude.

Trump didn't certify the IAEA assessment for Iran. These are important issues. The boring truth is a far better outcome than escalation for the benefit of Trump politics. Add to that the US Congress does nothing.

There is no reason for Kim Jong Un to proceed with any talks when one of the partners is erratic. Treating these issues as if they are frivolous and simply another Sole Stone in Trump's ring to own the universe is idiocy. There is absolutely no humility in Trump's heart or mind. Being humble with global leaders, including Kim Jong Un, goes very far when seeking common ground to move as a partner to a better end and peace.

Trump thinks he can simply bully Kim again. The warmongering will start again now that Kim Jong Un has changed his posture. He believes the fear of nuclear war is why Un came to the peace table. Not. He came to a peace process with South Korea at an invitation to bring North Korean athletes to the Olympics with their Southern counterparts.

I am quite sure Trump will NEVER reflect on his actions in any part of the world to realize he might have been a real reason for Un to back away from the peace talks. Trump will never accept his responsibility for these failed talks.

I feel terrible for the Korean people. The elected a President that was to lead to a peaceful resolution with North Korea. He was doing exactly that. Trump disrupted it all.

May 15, 2018
By Ellen Mitchell

President Trump (click here) ordered top national security officials to prepare to evacuate U.S. military families living in South Korea ahead of the Winter Olympics earlier this year, CNN reported Tuesday.

CNN, citing four current and former administration officials, reported that Trump issued the directive earlier this year to then-national security adviser H.R. McMaster during a daily intelligence briefing.

McMaster reportedly directed National Security Council staff to prepare a presidential memorandum ordering the nearly 8,000 military dependents in South Korea to leave the country. The memo was then sent to White house chief of staff John Kelly.

“It was an order. It wasn't, ‘I'm thinking about it,'” one senior administration official told CNN, referring to the directive. “We saw it as a done deal.”...

NORTH KOREA IS NOT LIBYA! 

THERE IS NO THREAT TO AMERICANS!

THIS IS CRAZY!

Israel;s EXCUSE for killing, maiming and wounding Palestinians are always the same, "There were extremists killed." That is what jail is for. It is called Due Process.

A relative (click here) of Palestinian Ahmed al-Rantisi, who was killed during a protest at the Israel-Gaza border, is consoled at a hospital in the northern Gaza Strip May 14, 2018.

Turkey is posturing for war. If Turkey begins an assault against Syria and ultimately (when the soldiers get there) Israel. Turkey will be joined by Russia. The Kurds will be the real target by Turkey.

Israel's aggressive stance is getting out of control. The current political leadership is making the same rhetorical language a standard for confrontation. There is no reason for the Israeli military to be at the border with Gaza. The protesters are unarmed and need recognition by the Knesset to bring about talks to end the discontent in Palestine.

I don't care if there are Hamas members among them; they know nothing else. There are at least two generations that have been born and grown up under Hamas leadership. And change is going to require diplomacy, humanitarian aid and real changes in Israel's occupation. Israel will seek to move borders into Gaza, if it hasn't happened already. I mean there is a reason Palestinians in Gaza are protesting. I am quite confident Netanyahu is attempting to reverse the Sharon measures with Gaza.

Haley's words are empty of proof. The USA isn't worthy of talks, unless, it can end the violence at the Gaza border by the withdrawal of Israeli soldiers. The USA has to prove it actually has a real and substantive relationship with Israel that brings about movement toward peace.

Hamas is not the only people at the border of Gaza and Israel. So, they get closer to the security fence. It is a sensitive area and the occupation by Israel has to end. So, they mention Hitler. The words of Haley are simplistic, rhetorical and prove no real measure to end the violence or occupation.

Israel exists because of the human rights demanded by the global community. Now, Israel needs to return land to the Palestinians and end all violence.

Hamas conveyed (click here) indirect messages to Israel on Monday night that it might change tack in the Gaza border protests Tuesday, but Israel isn't certain whether the group really aims to rein in the violent demonstrations which claimed the lives of 60 Palestinians by live Israeli gunfire Monday.

Funerals of Monday's casualties are expected to take place in Gaza on Tuesday, with the question remaining whether Hamas will call the masses to the fence as it did Monday, or keep the rallies as a spontaneous initiative of the people. Rallies are expected in the large West Bank cities, as well as a general strike....

Protesters chants slogans as they hold Palestinian and Turkish flags outside the residence of the Israeli Ambassador in Ankara on May 14, 2018 during a demonstration against US President Donald Trump’s decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem


The world, especially the region, do not consent to the relocation of the USA embassy. The USA should not give up it's old location. This is typical of the Trump administration; they do not negotiate. They work in a bubble they have created.

King Abdullah has been a long standing ally of the USA. It has done it's part with Iraq and with refugees. Jordan can be assessed at 'the breaking point' with it's support of refugees. Jordan has also experienced terrorist attacks. This country has been a leader in peace in the Middle East. Today, the King of Jordan is speaking out against a highly explosive move of the USA embassy. The Trump administration should take the King's statements serious and should have conferred with the King before this began. Election promises in the USA are meaningless in the Middle East. King Abdullah better not receive retribution for his statements.

I stated yesterday the change in alliance was occurring as I wrote my opinion. It is continuing. The USA is being abandoned under the Trump White House. 

The USA Congress needs to censure President Trump. (click here)

May 15, 2018

Amman — His Majesty King Abdullah (click here) on Monday stressed that Jordan rejects and condemns the blatant acts of aggression and violence perpetrated by Israel against the brotherly Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. 

The King emphasised that moving the US embassy to Jerusalem would have serious repercussions on security and stability in the Middle East and will inflame the feelings of Muslims and Christians.

King Abdullah made the remarks during a phone call from French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, during which they discussed the latest developments in the Palestinian arena, particularly the Israeli escalation in Gaza, in addition to the repercussions of moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, a Royal Court statement said....

Sports betting? Will it cause greater corruption? I didn't think the NFL could be more corrupt?

Roger Goodell should be in prison right now for massive fraud.

How does that happen? The NFL looks the other way to minimize the outrage and financial impact. But, the government? No one is acting to end this widespread fraud in the NFL? Citizens were ripped off. They spent a lot of money for tickets, travel and merchandise, yet the fraud was allowed to exist. Why aren't the people boycotting? Why aren't they demanding action against the NFL and Goodell? 

Now, there is going to be sports betting and the odds are never going to be accurate. The games are fixed.

Within the States Rights legislature needs to be a strong structure against corruption, otherwise, the fascination of the better will be short lived due to corruption.

May 14, 2018
By Richard Wolf

Washington – New Jersey won a landmark ruling (click here) from the Supreme Court on Monday that could lead many states to legalize betting on college and professional sports.

The justices declared unconstitutional a law passed by Congress a quarter century ago that forced states to keep sports gambling bans on the books. The 6-3 decision clears the way for other states to join Nevada in allowing bets to be placed on individual games.

Justice Samuel Alito, a New Jersey native, wrote the court's opinion in the case. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissented, and Justice Stephen Breyer dissented in part.

"Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each state is free to act on its own," Alito said. "Our job is to interpret the law Congress has enacted and decide whether it is consistent with the Constitution."

New Jersey wanted to increase GDP, economic engagement and increased jobs. Where are the jobs coming from? If this betting is online, that does nothing to increase jobs. Therefore, is the betting only at the casinos? If that is the case will it actually increase tourism and attract people who want to wager on games or intergame betting?

The GDP will go up somewhat, but, the people involved in the betting is already known. After the initial novelty, the economic impact is already known. What happens to increase that? Will casinos actually benefit? There should be no illusion about the GDP opportunity. That effects the spending the government and taxes. New Jersey already has several horse racetracks, both Thoroughbred and Standardbreds. The state's GDP is already fixed. If the game betting is exclusively online, there will be little change because of the hacking and intrusion of cybercrime. The state will spend more on cybercrime rather than receiving an uptick in GDP, it will become a burden. I think states need to think this through. Game betting should be an economic enhancement to the people and not another burden.