McConnell is not interested in anti-hate legislation, anti-corruption legislation (HR-1) or preventing foreign money from entering the elections in the USA. It has been two years since the Russians invaded the 2016 elections, elected Trump and the US Senate has done NOTHING to end the invasion into the USA by foreign powers.
It now can be easily stated, morality does not matter to the Republicans because their politics is based in big money donors, hate and a corrupt FOX News.
McConnell and Trump plan to continue their Islamophobia because it is an election strategy. They will continue to pander to White Supremacists that we witnessed in Trump's hate speech during the 2018 elections.
The facts are very plain. The Right Wing Supreme Court hacked away at the Voting Rights Act, they made money a citizen and sided with Citizens United. It is very plain the power structure in the Republican Party is more interested in CONVERTING the USA into a Plutocratic - Theocracy than anything else. They have to be stopped. The US Supreme Court AND the Judiciary are all part of that campaign agenda.
The elections of 2018 were obviously tampered with as well. Georgia. North Carolina. Hate speech in Texas that moved Ted Cruz far ahead of O'Rourke and Florida.
This needs to stop and it is now obvious the Republicans have absolutely no intentions of participating in moral issues regarding the security of our country.
Trump's strategy for 2020 is the same hate filled speech of 2018, so security issues are at work. Trump is highly motivated for 2020 because he wants the US House back as well as the US Senate because he wants to change our term limits to three terms like his friend Putin or removing term limits altogether. He can't carry out such initiatives with a Democratic House.
Our elections going forward must be about the needs of the country and it's national security including secure, safe and free elections. It is our mission now.
One other thing, I heard a brief news report that Barr stated the US Justice Department will practice God's morality. I am confident that does not mean they will be following Pope Francis declarations to fight the climate crisis. He stated that to intimidate and oppress the LGBT community. The Trump administration, including the cabinet officers, are corrupt to the bone and hate is part of their daily agenda.
That idea of "God's morality" also prevents genetic research in the USA. Bush started it and now Trump's administration wants to continue it.
Sunday, March 10, 2019
Saturday, March 09, 2019
Matt Schlapp | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) (click here for news article - thank you)
During the interview, a revelation regarding Donald Trump came up. It was that if Donald Trump was not reelected, he would not leave the White House. I am proposing a solution.
Should Trump consider the renovations of the White House so much his design that he won't leave, then the staff must abandon the White House, shut off the electricity, cable news access and any water supply and move it to Monticello.
Every American is familiar with Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home. It is pictured on every nickel, except the ones with buffalos. On inauguration day when Trump does not show up for the handing over of power at noon, then Monticello comes into play and all the presidential support systems are quickly moved. It is a perfect place.
Monticello is about the size of the West Wing. There are modern plumbing, electricity and water. The Secret Service can secure the facilities and the USA will pay rent until Trump gets tired of carrying water from some pond nearby to his toilet flushes in the White House.
Unbelievable that Trump is so enamored with himself he can't picture the day he leaves the White House.
Should Trump consider the renovations of the White House so much his design that he won't leave, then the staff must abandon the White House, shut off the electricity, cable news access and any water supply and move it to Monticello.Every American is familiar with Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home. It is pictured on every nickel, except the ones with buffalos. On inauguration day when Trump does not show up for the handing over of power at noon, then Monticello comes into play and all the presidential support systems are quickly moved. It is a perfect place.
Monticello is about the size of the West Wing. There are modern plumbing, electricity and water. The Secret Service can secure the facilities and the USA will pay rent until Trump gets tired of carrying water from some pond nearby to his toilet flushes in the White House.
Unbelievable that Trump is so enamored with himself he can't picture the day he leaves the White House.
Friday, March 08, 2019
Hm. How does the Solicitor General untangle the web that Snyder spun?
March 7, 2019
By Ron Fonger
Flint -- The new woman (click here) in charge of Flint water prosecutions says she needs more time to assess the strength of at least two of the pending criminal cases before she’s prepared to defend them.
Michigan Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud told a Genesee district court judge Thursday, March 7, that she’s not ready to press the cases against former emergency manager Darnell Earley or former Flint Department of Public Works Director Howard Croft and won’t be ready by next month either.
“The people are currently evaluating all the evidence in these cases, specifically the defendants that are ... in front of the court today...,” Hammoud said. “We are doing our due diligence in this case ... to evaluate and re-evaluate the evidence in this case and the charges on all defendants.”
Earley, the state-appointed emergency manager in charge of Flint at the start of the city’s water crisis, faces charges of false pretenses, conspiracy to commit false pretenses, willful neglect of duty and misconduct in office....
Yo Yo Ma's Day of Action seems to bring out the character of Flint.
March 4, 2019
By Lauren Rearick
It’s been 1,774 days (click here) since the city of Flint, Michigan, has had drinkable water, and now Jaden Smith is helping residents affected by the crisis.
On Saturday (March 2), the actor’s company, Just Goods, donated a portable water filtration system to Flint’s First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church called the Water Box, which mirrors the system Just uses to bottle its own Just Water, Michigan Live reports. The box was created in collaboration with the church and Smith’s mother, Jada Pinkett-Smith, said she would also be donating a second Water Box to the city.
“We don’t want to disrupt what’s happening with the donation of bottled water to Flint,” Smith told those assembled at the box’s unveiling. “We just want to be the backbone in case something happens to that supply of donated bottled water.”...
March 8, 2019
Flint — At age 5, (click here) Phil Hagerman started stacking soda bottles for 2-cent deposits at the family pharmacy in Flint. While other children watched cartoons on Saturday mornings, the little boy joyfully went to work with his father.
He knew he would become a pharmacist one day.
“I’m kind of a boring guy,” Hagerman said on a snowy afternoon in February. “I’ve lived within 10 miles my entire life, except for college.”
After a stint at Ferris State University just two hours west, Hagerman returned to the bedroom community of Fenton, where everything began. He partnered with his father and built a health care network specializing in complex diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis. Their private company went public and made a fortune.
All those millions? He takes abandoned buildings rich in history and brings them back to life. He invests in young people launching companies. He makes dreams come true.
Others think of him as the angel investor of Flint....
By Ron Fonger
Flint -- The new woman (click here) in charge of Flint water prosecutions says she needs more time to assess the strength of at least two of the pending criminal cases before she’s prepared to defend them.
Michigan Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud told a Genesee district court judge Thursday, March 7, that she’s not ready to press the cases against former emergency manager Darnell Earley or former Flint Department of Public Works Director Howard Croft and won’t be ready by next month either.
“The people are currently evaluating all the evidence in these cases, specifically the defendants that are ... in front of the court today...,” Hammoud said. “We are doing our due diligence in this case ... to evaluate and re-evaluate the evidence in this case and the charges on all defendants.”
Earley, the state-appointed emergency manager in charge of Flint at the start of the city’s water crisis, faces charges of false pretenses, conspiracy to commit false pretenses, willful neglect of duty and misconduct in office....
Yo Yo Ma's Day of Action seems to bring out the character of Flint.
March 4, 2019
By Lauren Rearick
It’s been 1,774 days (click here) since the city of Flint, Michigan, has had drinkable water, and now Jaden Smith is helping residents affected by the crisis.
On Saturday (March 2), the actor’s company, Just Goods, donated a portable water filtration system to Flint’s First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church called the Water Box, which mirrors the system Just uses to bottle its own Just Water, Michigan Live reports. The box was created in collaboration with the church and Smith’s mother, Jada Pinkett-Smith, said she would also be donating a second Water Box to the city.
“We don’t want to disrupt what’s happening with the donation of bottled water to Flint,” Smith told those assembled at the box’s unveiling. “We just want to be the backbone in case something happens to that supply of donated bottled water.”...
March 8, 2019
Flint — At age 5, (click here) Phil Hagerman started stacking soda bottles for 2-cent deposits at the family pharmacy in Flint. While other children watched cartoons on Saturday mornings, the little boy joyfully went to work with his father.
He knew he would become a pharmacist one day.
“I’m kind of a boring guy,” Hagerman said on a snowy afternoon in February. “I’ve lived within 10 miles my entire life, except for college.”
After a stint at Ferris State University just two hours west, Hagerman returned to the bedroom community of Fenton, where everything began. He partnered with his father and built a health care network specializing in complex diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis. Their private company went public and made a fortune.
All those millions? He takes abandoned buildings rich in history and brings them back to life. He invests in young people launching companies. He makes dreams come true.
Others think of him as the angel investor of Flint....
Let me see if I get this right.
Paul Manafort, a proven criminal, receives sympathy from Trump knowing Manafort never told the truth to the Special Council or the American people.
Michael Cohen, a proven criminal, receives ridicule from Trump knowing Cohen came forward to cooperate with Congress and telling the truth to the American people.
If I had to assess Trump's moral content, it would be that Trump is a criminal that likes other criminals, especially those that lie a lot.
Michael Cohen, a proven criminal, receives ridicule from Trump knowing Cohen came forward to cooperate with Congress and telling the truth to the American people.
If I had to assess Trump's moral content, it would be that Trump is a criminal that likes other criminals, especially those that lie a lot.
Any war in the Caribbean won't be conventional for long.
Russia and China do not have major staging areas in the Western Hemisphere, at least that I am aware of.
Maduro is backed by Russia and is supplying weapons to him for a tidy price, but, it is my understanding Russia already has soldiers on the ground in Venezuela, albeit a small number at this point.
Any conventional warfare in the Caribbean will be to provide a sense of security from nuclear confrontation with the USA. If the USA has it's guard down, the assault by every ally Putin can find will launch and perhaps not receive any missiles in return, especially with Trump in office.Trump and the only people he cares about, his family, will be down a rabbit hole waiting for Putin to call the all clear.
Now, that might sound strange and delusional, but, Putin wants to end the USA domination in regard to global security and with Kim itching to be part of the big picture, there is no better time than now.
Putin and China are communists and the USA is freedom and democracy. At least that is what the US Constitution demands.
The game is set now, it is a matter of winning that matters.
Oh, one other thing. So much for "If Hillary wins there will be a nuclear war."
Maduro is backed by Russia and is supplying weapons to him for a tidy price, but, it is my understanding Russia already has soldiers on the ground in Venezuela, albeit a small number at this point.
Any conventional warfare in the Caribbean will be to provide a sense of security from nuclear confrontation with the USA. If the USA has it's guard down, the assault by every ally Putin can find will launch and perhaps not receive any missiles in return, especially with Trump in office.Trump and the only people he cares about, his family, will be down a rabbit hole waiting for Putin to call the all clear.
Now, that might sound strange and delusional, but, Putin wants to end the USA domination in regard to global security and with Kim itching to be part of the big picture, there is no better time than now.
Putin and China are communists and the USA is freedom and democracy. At least that is what the US Constitution demands.
The game is set now, it is a matter of winning that matters.
Oh, one other thing. So much for "If Hillary wins there will be a nuclear war."
What is going on in Venezuela?
Elliot Abrams, the human rights abuser, was put in charge of the USA's efforts in Venezuela. China is screaming no foreign interference and the lights are out all over the country.
March 8, 2019
A massive power outage hit Venezuela (click here), sending the country into darkness. President Maduro says the United States is to blame for an "electrical war." Yahoo Finance's Zack Guzman and Jeanie Ahn discuss.
This is exactly what I worried about with Trump. He is going to cause an international near border war. I swear, he and Putin are attempting to find ways to invade this country and end our democracy. I would not put anything past Trump if he thinks he can be king.
The United Nations needs to convene about Venezuela and Trump's focus on invasion rather than diplomacy.
March 8, 2019
A massive power outage hit Venezuela (click here), sending the country into darkness. President Maduro says the United States is to blame for an "electrical war." Yahoo Finance's Zack Guzman and Jeanie Ahn discuss.
This is exactly what I worried about with Trump. He is going to cause an international near border war. I swear, he and Putin are attempting to find ways to invade this country and end our democracy. I would not put anything past Trump if he thinks he can be king.
The United Nations needs to convene about Venezuela and Trump's focus on invasion rather than diplomacy.
Is helping women to have babies socialism?
The province of New South Wales in Australia doesn't think so. I don't want to hear that this is a political football, because, the government has already made the financial support known. There is nothing political about it.
March 9, 2019
By Esther Han
Manu O'Connor tried for four years (click here) to have a baby but it was only when she was 20 weeks pregnant, and her baby the size of a mango, that she began to enjoy the experience.
In that four year period, Ms O'Connor, 40 from Croydon, had been on an "emotional rollercoaster", suffering several miscarriages and dealing with the mounting costs of IVF treatment.
"I had three miscarriages and another two while having IVF so it was only when I was halfway through pregnancy I could be happy and allow myself to get attached," she said on Friday while cuddling 14-week-old Sita.
The government says it wants the IVF process to become easier and has announced a $42 million package to increase access and ease the financial burden.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said if re-elected her government would provide a rebate up to $500 for for IVF prescreening tests which are used to determine whether a woman is likely to experience a positive result.
"Pre-screening tests are often an expensive and emotionally challenging experience for women," she said.
"We will also make IVF an option for more women who previously may not have been able to afford it by expanding the number of NSW government-supported IVF clinics."...
No more Tay-Sachs? Wow. Is the future already here? Is New South Wales leading the way? I know the USA isn't. The testing that is subsidized by NSW with $500 will be the key to the need and viability to IVF for a couple.
March 2019
The global in-vitro fertilization market size (click here) is expected to reach USD 36.2 billion by 2026, based on a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. It is projected to expand at a CAGR of 10.2% during the forecast period. The market is driven by the increasing incidence of infertility owing to lifestyle changes, government initiatives to provide better reimbursement policies, and the continuous efforts by the industry contributors. Expansion of fertility procedures for treating male infertility such as ICSI, is projected to positively influence the growth in near future.
Moreover, availability of genomic testing with the ability to prevent the transfer of genetic disease during IVF procedure is expected to drive the market. Increasing number of IVF treatments has encouraged more insurance providers to cover these procedures. This has ultimately led to competitive pricing and has moderated the treatment costs, driving the market with more treatment standardization and automation....
IVF in, Stadiums out!
Morality is the choices we make.
March 9, 2019
By Alexandra Smith, Lisa Visentin and Esther Han
Most NSW voters (click here) are still opposed to the state government funding a new Sydney stadium, polling reveals, as Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Friday launched her first vigorous defence of the $730 million policy.
The new poll, taken two days after Labor leader Michael Daley sensationally told 2GB broadcaster Alan Jones that he would sack most of the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust if elected premier, shows more than 52 per cent of voters oppose or strongly oppose the government's stadiums policy....
March 9, 2019
By Esther Han
Manu O'Connor tried for four years (click here) to have a baby but it was only when she was 20 weeks pregnant, and her baby the size of a mango, that she began to enjoy the experience.
In that four year period, Ms O'Connor, 40 from Croydon, had been on an "emotional rollercoaster", suffering several miscarriages and dealing with the mounting costs of IVF treatment.
"I had three miscarriages and another two while having IVF so it was only when I was halfway through pregnancy I could be happy and allow myself to get attached," she said on Friday while cuddling 14-week-old Sita.
The government says it wants the IVF process to become easier and has announced a $42 million package to increase access and ease the financial burden.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said if re-elected her government would provide a rebate up to $500 for for IVF prescreening tests which are used to determine whether a woman is likely to experience a positive result.
"Pre-screening tests are often an expensive and emotionally challenging experience for women," she said.
"We will also make IVF an option for more women who previously may not have been able to afford it by expanding the number of NSW government-supported IVF clinics."...
No more Tay-Sachs? Wow. Is the future already here? Is New South Wales leading the way? I know the USA isn't. The testing that is subsidized by NSW with $500 will be the key to the need and viability to IVF for a couple.
March 2019
The global in-vitro fertilization market size (click here) is expected to reach USD 36.2 billion by 2026, based on a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. It is projected to expand at a CAGR of 10.2% during the forecast period. The market is driven by the increasing incidence of infertility owing to lifestyle changes, government initiatives to provide better reimbursement policies, and the continuous efforts by the industry contributors. Expansion of fertility procedures for treating male infertility such as ICSI, is projected to positively influence the growth in near future.
Moreover, availability of genomic testing with the ability to prevent the transfer of genetic disease during IVF procedure is expected to drive the market. Increasing number of IVF treatments has encouraged more insurance providers to cover these procedures. This has ultimately led to competitive pricing and has moderated the treatment costs, driving the market with more treatment standardization and automation....
IVF in, Stadiums out!
Morality is the choices we make.
March 9, 2019
By Alexandra Smith, Lisa Visentin and Esther Han
Most NSW voters (click here) are still opposed to the state government funding a new Sydney stadium, polling reveals, as Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Friday launched her first vigorous defence of the $730 million policy.
The new poll, taken two days after Labor leader Michael Daley sensationally told 2GB broadcaster Alan Jones that he would sack most of the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust if elected premier, shows more than 52 per cent of voters oppose or strongly oppose the government's stadiums policy....
So, Trump is screaming no collusion, huh?
To prove further corruption, there is the issue of LIMITING speech within the prosecution. The judge would not allow the words Russian Collusion in the courtroom. The reason could be because there is no specific law that uses the word collusion as it's stated statute.
I have to wonder with or without new evidence if an appeal to the restrictions of language is a possibility?
When Trump starts screaming NO Conspiracy it might get more interesting.
We already know there was a conspiracy with the testimony of Michael Cohen. There was definitely men, including Trump, conspiring to hide the truth from the American people. He can say it was to protect his wife, but, if that was known to the American people at the time the conspiracy was taking place, the election would have had a different outcome.
The women that were conspired against were coming forward to speak to the people, not Mrs. Trump.
To prove further corruption, there is the issue of LIMITING speech within the prosecution. The judge would not allow the words Russian Collusion in the courtroom. The reason could be because there is no specific law that uses the word collusion as it's stated statute.
I have to wonder with or without new evidence if an appeal to the restrictions of language is a possibility?
When Trump starts screaming NO Conspiracy it might get more interesting.
We already know there was a conspiracy with the testimony of Michael Cohen. There was definitely men, including Trump, conspiring to hide the truth from the American people. He can say it was to protect his wife, but, if that was known to the American people at the time the conspiracy was taking place, the election would have had a different outcome.
The women that were conspired against were coming forward to speak to the people, not Mrs. Trump.
Thursday, March 07, 2019
The public dialogue about Konstantinos V. Kilimnik lacks a vital link. Why would Kilimnik care about poll data and why should Americans care if he did get polling data? Because Kilimnik would carry that data back to Putin so his government hackers and operatives knew how to focus their efforts. It might be of interest to know that Kilimnik doesn’t leave the borders of Russia these days once he cooperated with Putin’s demands.
Was there collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia? You betcha and to the nth degree to insure Trump’s victory. God help the hacker that didn’t make it happen.
Was there collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia? You betcha and to the nth degree to insure Trump’s victory. God help the hacker that didn’t make it happen.
The ranting by the legal council for these defendants is Anti - American. They are trying to make a public case that the prosecution is wrong and their defendants are victims. That is a lie. There is no better person to conduct these investigations than Robert Mueller. The ranting is trying to defame Robert Mueller in hopes Trump will find the electorate amiable to the idea the pardons are justified. The defendants know Trump won’t risk unpopular pardons. The rantings are Anti-American in defaming the Special Council and due process.
Ellis has had an attitude problem from the beginning. 48 months is not a sentence, it is corruption and I hope there is an appeal option for the prosecution to pursue.
Manafort bribed a CEO of a financial institution and this is what happens? When is he going to be paroled?
Manafort will get out of jail and go right back to running elections in the Post- Soviet states for Putin. That is where all his money comes from.
Manafort bribed a CEO of a financial institution and this is what happens? When is he going to be paroled?
Manafort will get out of jail and go right back to running elections in the Post- Soviet states for Putin. That is where all his money comes from.
Michael Cohen is doing the right thing by suing Trump.
Trump or his son are not paying for their own legal costs. Guiliani, as Trump’s personal attorney is paid by the RNC. Is there any wonder why Trump just dials in another lawyer every time he feels threatened? He is not paying for it.
If Michael Cohen has an agreement that grants him legal costs paid for by Trump, then he needs to pursue it. Michael Cohen never trusted Donald Trump. He may have worked for him, but, he never trusted him. That was obvious when he made a tape of Trump to prove to Pecker that Trump never gave him the money to pay Pecker.
Michael Cohen paid off Trump’s paramours out of his own pocket and had to continually remind Trump the money was owed to him. Trump on at least three occasions tried to tie expenses to Cohen stating Cohen was the problem and owed people money when he didn’t.
Michael Cohen has every right sue Trump for the dishonest relationship that existed with him.
If Michael Cohen has an agreement that grants him legal costs paid for by Trump, then he needs to pursue it. Michael Cohen never trusted Donald Trump. He may have worked for him, but, he never trusted him. That was obvious when he made a tape of Trump to prove to Pecker that Trump never gave him the money to pay Pecker.
Michael Cohen paid off Trump’s paramours out of his own pocket and had to continually remind Trump the money was owed to him. Trump on at least three occasions tried to tie expenses to Cohen stating Cohen was the problem and owed people money when he didn’t.
Michael Cohen has every right sue Trump for the dishonest relationship that existed with him.
Ihan Omar is being ridiculed by Republicans to raise fear of the Democratic majority.
Ihan Omar has apologized for the earlier comments she made regarding the Jewish lobby. I made my opinion clear. I think Ihan Omar is a unique representative in the US House and she represents an interesting constituency.
I believe there are politics within the Democratic Party that is anti-Pelosi underlying much of this confrontational front. That said, Ihan Omar is carrying a message about a protest to of Israel to return Palestinian lands which began some time ago and at of all places the Nobel Prize.
3 October 2018
A vocal critic of Israel (click here) and a member of pro-Palestinian group Jewish Voice for Peace was announced Wednesday as one of the three winners of the Nobel prize in chemistry, alongside two researchers who have cooperated with Israeli scientists and promoted academic ties with the Jewish state.
The trio was awarded the honor for “harnessing the power of evolution” to produce enzymes and antibodies that have led to new drugs and biofuels. Half of the 9-million-kronor ($1.01 million) prize went to Frances Arnold of the California Institute of Technology, while the other half is shared by George Smith of the University of Missouri and Gregory Winter of the MRC molecular biology lab in Cambridge, England....
I believe there are politics within the Democratic Party that is anti-Pelosi underlying much of this confrontational front. That said, Ihan Omar is carrying a message about a protest to of Israel to return Palestinian lands which began some time ago and at of all places the Nobel Prize.
3 October 2018
A vocal critic of Israel (click here) and a member of pro-Palestinian group Jewish Voice for Peace was announced Wednesday as one of the three winners of the Nobel prize in chemistry, alongside two researchers who have cooperated with Israeli scientists and promoted academic ties with the Jewish state.
The trio was awarded the honor for “harnessing the power of evolution” to produce enzymes and antibodies that have led to new drugs and biofuels. Half of the 9-million-kronor ($1.01 million) prize went to Frances Arnold of the California Institute of Technology, while the other half is shared by George Smith of the University of Missouri and Gregory Winter of the MRC molecular biology lab in Cambridge, England....
It was after this Nobel Prize was awarded the anti-Isreal dialogue began. This was the beginning of it and not the Democratic Party. There is a reason why people such as George P. Smith speaks out against Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands.
This is from Haaretz.
Anti-Zionist' scientist (click here) says he is opposed to ‘Jewish ethnic sovereignty over other peoples’ and is featured on the controversial Canary Mission website
Since this Nobel award, there have been varying people holding these views sited by the right wing Republican media as radicals or differently stated, a growing group of people that are Muslim sympathizers nurturing terrorists within the USA that will kill Americans. That point of view is religious bigotry, yet the right wing media in the name of freedom of speech is allowed to nurture their own variety of hate.
George P. Smith's work has contributed to science in a very productive and valuable way. He earned the Nobel and was rightly awarded.
George P. Smith and any other person carrying the view that Israel should be boycotted, divested and sanctioned. Israel is very concerned regarding this movement.
The BDS Movement (click here)
The current Trump administration is taking action against the BDS Movement. This is an alarming precedent by the Trump administration and should be scrutinized.
March 6, 2019
By Benjamin Weinthal
The US government, (click here) via its powerful ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, urged German banks this week to shut down accounts they hold on behalf of organizations that support the BDS campaign against the State of Israel.
“Germany’s Bundestag passed a resolution condemning the BDS movement and calling on the federal government to resolutely oppose it,” Grenell told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. “German banks should therefore cut ties with all organizations linked to the BDS movement. Organizations and people that undermine Israel’s security should be condemned.”
Grenell, a prominent supporter of Israel, issued his statement in response to reports in the Post about an account in the German Bank for Social Economy that belongs to a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement organization and deemed to be antisemitic by the nearly 100,000 member Central Council of Jews in Germany....
Now, to address this growing anti-Pelosi and anti-Democratic rantings. It is a distraction from the fact Trump has conducted criminal behavior from the White House.
Is this movement and speech antisemitic? Of course, Israel believes it is because it is a real threat to the financial status of Israel. BUT, is there sincere anti-Semitic impacts garnered by this movement? They are not violent. They do not carry out antisemitic acts against the Jewish people. They are protesting in an acceptable way that has been effective in other areas of the world, namely apartheid. Perhaps that is what Israel is afraid of and rather than address this diplomatically, there is a right-wing media attack on the Democratic Party and it's representatives.
The Democratic Party needs to use it's own infrastructure to address the issues presented by Ihan Omar. If she is violating ethics by stating antisemitic tropes she needs to face the ethics committee. If she is exerting her rights to speak out about issues important to her then she is not exhibiting hate so much as bringing legitimate concerns of her constituency.
The USA government has repeatedly expressed it's position regarding Palestinian lands occupied by Israel's settlers. The USA government has a strong history of opposing the settlement movement within Israel backed by the Knesset. Those are facts. Israel has moved the lines between Israel and Palestinian lands many times. Israel has completely ignored the opposition of the USA regarding the settlement movement within Israel. When Israel does not provide a place for Palestine it encourages protest movements such as the BDS Movement.
Regarding the statements by Ihan Omar regarding the "dual loyalty" of the Jewish people with the USA; she is wrong in her point of view. Israel is a small country and if it could it would provide a home to it's entire diaspora. The USA is a safe place for the Jewish diaspora and the people of the USA are proud of that fact.
There is a Palestinian diaspora in the USA and they are as safe within USA borders as any Jewish person. There is a strong line drawn with Palestinian organizations that raise money in the USA to provide for violent methods to be carried out in the Middle East. Those organizations are dismantled and the persons seeking such facility to violence are arrested and tried. I am sure there are beneficial Palestinian organizations in the USA and they are welcome to carry out humanitarian efforts for Palestine.
Israel's organizations in the USA do not raise monies for violence. The Israel government has been provided significant military munitions to ensure it's sovereignty. Does Israel go too far with it's actions against Palestine? Yes. To that end there are frequent escalations of violence between Israel and Palestine. Even a peace movement along the borders of these two lands was demonized as a threat to Israel's border. That peaceful movement than took on a violent methodology after they were ridiculed by Israel.
The dynamics between Israel and Palestine are impossible. It is no surprise that BDS exists. Obviously, Trump is trying to defuse the potent effects of the BDS Movement.
I suggest Ihan Omar affiliate herself with a peaceful and benevolent organization that has a measurable effect on the lives of people in the Middle East. There are many people suffering in the Middle East, including the Palestinians and those people need a voice in the USA. I suggest she speak with the United Nations and find organizations that do good work. Those organizations can provide her a voice on an international level as well.
If she is going to take on a radical voice based in a popular movement that propagates hate she will fail in her advocacy and will most likely lose her seat in Congress.
If she continues to place any Israel charity or advocacy organization in the same class as the petroleum industry and the like it proves she cannot identify the mission of these organizations. She must discipline herself to understand the mission of any organization and whether they have a place in the lives of the Americans she represents. She is a powerful woman that will only gain power as time goes by and her use of that power is going to decide her future. She MUST discern between benevolence and malevolence. Her background may be a hindrance to her ability to differentiate such issues and to that reality she may find she is not accepted to carry any message of peace.
I wish her well and success; I only hope she is able to envision the best path for her future.
This is from Haaretz.
Anti-Zionist' scientist (click here) says he is opposed to ‘Jewish ethnic sovereignty over other peoples’ and is featured on the controversial Canary Mission website
Since this Nobel award, there have been varying people holding these views sited by the right wing Republican media as radicals or differently stated, a growing group of people that are Muslim sympathizers nurturing terrorists within the USA that will kill Americans. That point of view is religious bigotry, yet the right wing media in the name of freedom of speech is allowed to nurture their own variety of hate.
George P. Smith's work has contributed to science in a very productive and valuable way. He earned the Nobel and was rightly awarded.
George P. Smith and any other person carrying the view that Israel should be boycotted, divested and sanctioned. Israel is very concerned regarding this movement.
The BDS Movement (click here)
The current Trump administration is taking action against the BDS Movement. This is an alarming precedent by the Trump administration and should be scrutinized.
March 6, 2019
By Benjamin Weinthal
The US government, (click here) via its powerful ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, urged German banks this week to shut down accounts they hold on behalf of organizations that support the BDS campaign against the State of Israel.
“Germany’s Bundestag passed a resolution condemning the BDS movement and calling on the federal government to resolutely oppose it,” Grenell told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. “German banks should therefore cut ties with all organizations linked to the BDS movement. Organizations and people that undermine Israel’s security should be condemned.”
Grenell, a prominent supporter of Israel, issued his statement in response to reports in the Post about an account in the German Bank for Social Economy that belongs to a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement organization and deemed to be antisemitic by the nearly 100,000 member Central Council of Jews in Germany....
Now, to address this growing anti-Pelosi and anti-Democratic rantings. It is a distraction from the fact Trump has conducted criminal behavior from the White House.
Is this movement and speech antisemitic? Of course, Israel believes it is because it is a real threat to the financial status of Israel. BUT, is there sincere anti-Semitic impacts garnered by this movement? They are not violent. They do not carry out antisemitic acts against the Jewish people. They are protesting in an acceptable way that has been effective in other areas of the world, namely apartheid. Perhaps that is what Israel is afraid of and rather than address this diplomatically, there is a right-wing media attack on the Democratic Party and it's representatives.
The Democratic Party needs to use it's own infrastructure to address the issues presented by Ihan Omar. If she is violating ethics by stating antisemitic tropes she needs to face the ethics committee. If she is exerting her rights to speak out about issues important to her then she is not exhibiting hate so much as bringing legitimate concerns of her constituency.
The USA government has repeatedly expressed it's position regarding Palestinian lands occupied by Israel's settlers. The USA government has a strong history of opposing the settlement movement within Israel backed by the Knesset. Those are facts. Israel has moved the lines between Israel and Palestinian lands many times. Israel has completely ignored the opposition of the USA regarding the settlement movement within Israel. When Israel does not provide a place for Palestine it encourages protest movements such as the BDS Movement.
Regarding the statements by Ihan Omar regarding the "dual loyalty" of the Jewish people with the USA; she is wrong in her point of view. Israel is a small country and if it could it would provide a home to it's entire diaspora. The USA is a safe place for the Jewish diaspora and the people of the USA are proud of that fact.
There is a Palestinian diaspora in the USA and they are as safe within USA borders as any Jewish person. There is a strong line drawn with Palestinian organizations that raise money in the USA to provide for violent methods to be carried out in the Middle East. Those organizations are dismantled and the persons seeking such facility to violence are arrested and tried. I am sure there are beneficial Palestinian organizations in the USA and they are welcome to carry out humanitarian efforts for Palestine.
Israel's organizations in the USA do not raise monies for violence. The Israel government has been provided significant military munitions to ensure it's sovereignty. Does Israel go too far with it's actions against Palestine? Yes. To that end there are frequent escalations of violence between Israel and Palestine. Even a peace movement along the borders of these two lands was demonized as a threat to Israel's border. That peaceful movement than took on a violent methodology after they were ridiculed by Israel.
The dynamics between Israel and Palestine are impossible. It is no surprise that BDS exists. Obviously, Trump is trying to defuse the potent effects of the BDS Movement.
I suggest Ihan Omar affiliate herself with a peaceful and benevolent organization that has a measurable effect on the lives of people in the Middle East. There are many people suffering in the Middle East, including the Palestinians and those people need a voice in the USA. I suggest she speak with the United Nations and find organizations that do good work. Those organizations can provide her a voice on an international level as well.
If she is going to take on a radical voice based in a popular movement that propagates hate she will fail in her advocacy and will most likely lose her seat in Congress.
If she continues to place any Israel charity or advocacy organization in the same class as the petroleum industry and the like it proves she cannot identify the mission of these organizations. She must discipline herself to understand the mission of any organization and whether they have a place in the lives of the Americans she represents. She is a powerful woman that will only gain power as time goes by and her use of that power is going to decide her future. She MUST discern between benevolence and malevolence. Her background may be a hindrance to her ability to differentiate such issues and to that reality she may find she is not accepted to carry any message of peace.
I wish her well and success; I only hope she is able to envision the best path for her future.
Wednesday, March 06, 2019
No different than Trump's administration, the First Daughter has no taste for equality.
She's wrong.
How many Trump regulations or de-regulations has he lost in court? A second court has struck down the citizenship question he ordered on the US Census, too.
March 6, 2019
A U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia (click here) vacated the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) stay of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) revised EEO-1 form and the September 15, 2017, Federal Register Notice implementing the stay (Staying the Effectiveness of the EEO-1 Pay Data Collection, 82 Fed. Reg. 43362). Nat’l Women’s Law Ctr. et al. v. OMB et al., No. 17-2458 (D.D.C. Mar. 4, 2019). The court immediately restored the prior directives of the EEOC and OMB requiring use of a revised EEO-1 form where employers with at least 100 employees have to report detailed information on their employees’ wages and hours, broken down by gender, race, and ethnicity.
The decision arises in a case brought by the National Women’s Law Center and other plaintiffs against OMB and the EEOC in which the plaintiffs challenged OMB’s decision to stay the EEOC’s pay data collection efforts. The expanded pay data collection was initially approved by OMB under the Obama Administration in September 2016. The Trump Administration stayed the pay data collection in August 2017, after concluding the pay reporting requirements would be too burdensome. The plaintiffs argued the pay data collection efforts are central to closing the race and gender wage gaps....
August 30, 2017
By Claire Zillman
The Trump White House (click here for video - thank you) on Tuesday stopped a planned Obama-era rule that would have required companies to submit data on worker pay by race, ethnicity, and gender, after deeming the regulation too burdensome to business.
The rule, introduced by President Barack Obama’s administration in January 2016, would have forced all employers with at least 100 workers to disclose summary data on wages in an effort to enforce equal pay laws and expose discriminatory pay practices. It would have covered some 63 million workers.
Due to the rule’s broad scope, Neomi Rao, administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, said it will not meet its stated goal.
“It’s enormously burdensome,” she told the Wall Street Journal. “We don’t believe it would actually help us gather information about wage and employment discrimination.”
President Donald Trump’s daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump, who’s cast herself as an advocate of women’s empowerment, issued a statement supporting the White House’s conclusion that the data collected would be too voluminous to provide insight into pay practices.
“Ultimately, while I believe the intention was good and agree that pay transparency is important, the proposed policy would not yield the intended results,” she said. “We look forward to continuing to work with EEOC, OMB, Congress and all relevant stakeholders on robust policies aimed at eliminating the gender wage gap.”...
How many Trump regulations or de-regulations has he lost in court? A second court has struck down the citizenship question he ordered on the US Census, too.
March 6, 2019
A U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia (click here) vacated the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) stay of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) revised EEO-1 form and the September 15, 2017, Federal Register Notice implementing the stay (Staying the Effectiveness of the EEO-1 Pay Data Collection, 82 Fed. Reg. 43362). Nat’l Women’s Law Ctr. et al. v. OMB et al., No. 17-2458 (D.D.C. Mar. 4, 2019). The court immediately restored the prior directives of the EEOC and OMB requiring use of a revised EEO-1 form where employers with at least 100 employees have to report detailed information on their employees’ wages and hours, broken down by gender, race, and ethnicity.
The decision arises in a case brought by the National Women’s Law Center and other plaintiffs against OMB and the EEOC in which the plaintiffs challenged OMB’s decision to stay the EEOC’s pay data collection efforts. The expanded pay data collection was initially approved by OMB under the Obama Administration in September 2016. The Trump Administration stayed the pay data collection in August 2017, after concluding the pay reporting requirements would be too burdensome. The plaintiffs argued the pay data collection efforts are central to closing the race and gender wage gaps....
August 30, 2017
By Claire Zillman
The Trump White House (click here for video - thank you) on Tuesday stopped a planned Obama-era rule that would have required companies to submit data on worker pay by race, ethnicity, and gender, after deeming the regulation too burdensome to business.
The rule, introduced by President Barack Obama’s administration in January 2016, would have forced all employers with at least 100 workers to disclose summary data on wages in an effort to enforce equal pay laws and expose discriminatory pay practices. It would have covered some 63 million workers.
Due to the rule’s broad scope, Neomi Rao, administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, said it will not meet its stated goal.
“It’s enormously burdensome,” she told the Wall Street Journal. “We don’t believe it would actually help us gather information about wage and employment discrimination.”
President Donald Trump’s daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump, who’s cast herself as an advocate of women’s empowerment, issued a statement supporting the White House’s conclusion that the data collected would be too voluminous to provide insight into pay practices.
“Ultimately, while I believe the intention was good and agree that pay transparency is important, the proposed policy would not yield the intended results,” she said. “We look forward to continuing to work with EEOC, OMB, Congress and all relevant stakeholders on robust policies aimed at eliminating the gender wage gap.”...
Why aren't women valued for the soldier they are to this country?
Senator McSally was a pilot for the USA Air Force for 20 years. Yet, she is still not given the respect for her importance to this country or the ranks she held. It is outrageous.
She flew 300 combat hours for this country. She is a soldier. Where is the respect?
March 6, 2019
By Colleen Long
Washington -- Sen. Martha McSally, (click here) the first female Air Force fighter pilot to fly in combat, said Wednesday that she was sexually assaulted by a superior officer, and later, when she tried to talk about it to military officials, she "felt like the system was raping me all over again."
The Arizona Republican, a 26-year military veteran, made the disclosure at a Senate hearing on the military's efforts to prevent sexual assaults and improve the response when they occur. Lawmakers also heard from other service members who spoke of being sexually assaulted and humiliated while serving their country.
McSally said she did not report being raped because she did not trust the system, and she said she was ashamed and confused. She said she was impressed and grateful to the survivors who came forward to help change the system. She was in the ninth class at the Air Force Academy to allow women, and said sexual harassment and assault were prevalent. Victims mostly suffered in silence, she said....
She flew 300 combat hours for this country. She is a soldier. Where is the respect?
March 6, 2019
By Colleen Long
Washington -- Sen. Martha McSally, (click here) the first female Air Force fighter pilot to fly in combat, said Wednesday that she was sexually assaulted by a superior officer, and later, when she tried to talk about it to military officials, she "felt like the system was raping me all over again."
The Arizona Republican, a 26-year military veteran, made the disclosure at a Senate hearing on the military's efforts to prevent sexual assaults and improve the response when they occur. Lawmakers also heard from other service members who spoke of being sexually assaulted and humiliated while serving their country.
McSally said she did not report being raped because she did not trust the system, and she said she was ashamed and confused. She said she was impressed and grateful to the survivors who came forward to help change the system. She was in the ninth class at the Air Force Academy to allow women, and said sexual harassment and assault were prevalent. Victims mostly suffered in silence, she said....
Justin Trudeau is correct and has legislation to back him up. Now, if the legislation is unconstitutional then that is news, but, PM Trudeau has not broken the law or exerted corrupt principles. There is legislation that was passed to protect the jobs and allow the company to be fined.
SNC-Lavalin is an international company employing 50,000 people. They are based in Quebec.
February 8, 2019
A man walks past the headquarters of SNC Lavalin in Montreal on November 6, 2014. For more than a century, SNC-Lavalin has been viewed with pride in Quebec as it grew from a small firm specializing in hydraulics into a global engineering and construction giant.Founded in 1911, it gained a reputation for building a large dam in Quebec that spearheaded the province's development of hydroelectricity and developing the skillsets for thousands of Quebec workers.
The new provincial government appears ready to assist SNC-Lavalin from any takeover attempt by reportedly putting it on a list of 10 “strategically important” companies.
Toronto — For more than a century, (click here) SNC-Lavalin has been viewed with pride in Quebec as it grew from a small firm specializing in hydraulics into a global engineering and construction giant.
Founded in 1911, it gained a reputation for building a large dam in Quebec that spearheaded the province’s development of hydroelectricity and developing the skill sets for thousands of Quebec workers.
Today the company has 50,000 employees around the world, after adding 18,000 with the acquisition of WS Atkins in 2017. However, its head count in Canada has fallen to 9,000 — including 3,400 in Quebec — from 20,000 in 2013.
For that, the Montreal-based company is seen as a provincial crown jewel that needs to be protected despite having its reputation tarnished in 2012 over bribery allegations that led to convictions of several senior executives, says an industry observer.
The province is acutely sensitive about losing another corporate headquarters — and associated jobs in law, accounting and consulting — following the exodus of many in the 1970s and later the sale of aluminum producer Alcan to Rio Tinto and Rona to U.S. rival Lowe’s, said Karl Moore, a professor at McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management.
“There’s a sense that we don’t want to lose any more corporate headquarters,” he said in an interview.
The new provincial government appears ready to assist SNC-Lavalin from any takeover attempt by reportedly putting it on a list of 10 “strategically important” companies....
...And so, the reported political pressure from the Prime Minister’s Office on former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould — denied by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — to help SNC-Lavalin avoid a criminal prosecution is viewed differently in Quebec, said Moore....
I am not quite sure why the cabinet is leaving, but, I do know that PM Trudeau pledged to have a better relationship with the native people. AG Jody Wilson-Raybould is a native person, so in putting her in the AG office was a major coup for all native people.
She was looking at this company to prosecute those involved with a bribery scandal some time ago in Libya when Gadhafi was still in power. She probably is correct in looking to corruption carried out internationally, however, the legislature did not believe it should be the destruction of the company.
I am going to precede this article by saying the world knows the habits of Gadaffi and his family, especially when it comes to women and the "forever party" they believed they were entitled to. In that lies a guarantee for corruption.
AG Jody Wilson-Raybould found the Canadian involvement with these elements objectionable and rightfully so, but, the legislature took a pragmatic view rather than an idealistic one. PM Trudeau is caught between an AG Native Canadian attempting to live up to the dignity of women and corruption standards she rightfully adheres to and a legislature protecting the jobs of Canadians. To hold PM Trudeau responsible for legislation that was to protect Canadians and their futures is more political than rational. This is not his war.
I wish AG Jody Wilson-Raybould had set her initiative on the shelf while continuing to build a case for the antics of the Gadaffi family and the brevity of their role in this unfortunate case of SNC Lavalin. She can still produce a good effect if she will continue her investigation and at this point publish a book about the wayward enterprises engaged with Gadhaffi. It is import for the world to understand the ruthlessness of that regime and ways to prevent such problems in the future. AG Jody Wilson-Raybould still has a remarkable opportunity before her even as a private citizen.
March 3, 2019
By Scott Taylor
...As a result of the increased scrutiny, (click here) we are now aware of many of the more sordid details of the alleged bribery at the centre of this burgeoning scandal. According to media reports, back in 2008, Saadi Gadhafi, the third son of the late Libyan president, came to Canada as a guest of SNC-Lavalin. The Quebec based engineering corporation was seeking to curry favour with Gadhafi the younger in order to land lucrative construction contracts in Libya worth millions of dollars.
Hired to protect Saadi during his stay was GardaWorld, but the services actually provided went far beyond close-in protection. It is alleged that Garda submitted bills to SNC-Lavalin totaling about $30,000 for debauchery ranging from high-class escorts to tickets for a Spice Girls concert....
Prime Minister Trudeau needs to reflect on the values he brought to the Canadian people, the exercising of his promises and ultimately the reason the AG left in the face of obvious wrong doing of SNC-Lavalin.
He needs to strike a consiliatory tone with the Canadian people and reiterate to carry out his promises to the native people and women. I do believe he is sincere in those views and for his Prime Ministership to be trashed for others less sincere is a poor decision by the Canadian people.
He needs to continue to listen to the concerns over the events in Libya. He can reflect the wishes of the Canadian legislature and the views of Montreal and Quebec in regard to SNC-Lavalin. The actions of the company was wrong to any reasonable morality. But, Libya has been and will continue to be a global concern and the question is how much of the past was actually that of the company by choice or by intimidation of the Gadaffi family.
SNC-Lavalin is an international company employing 50,000 people. They are based in Quebec.
A man walks past the headquarters of SNC Lavalin in Montreal on November 6, 2014. For more than a century, SNC-Lavalin has been viewed with pride in Quebec as it grew from a small firm specializing in hydraulics into a global engineering and construction giant.Founded in 1911, it gained a reputation for building a large dam in Quebec that spearheaded the province's development of hydroelectricity and developing the skillsets for thousands of Quebec workers.
The new provincial government appears ready to assist SNC-Lavalin from any takeover attempt by reportedly putting it on a list of 10 “strategically important” companies.
Toronto — For more than a century, (click here) SNC-Lavalin has been viewed with pride in Quebec as it grew from a small firm specializing in hydraulics into a global engineering and construction giant.
Founded in 1911, it gained a reputation for building a large dam in Quebec that spearheaded the province’s development of hydroelectricity and developing the skill sets for thousands of Quebec workers.
Today the company has 50,000 employees around the world, after adding 18,000 with the acquisition of WS Atkins in 2017. However, its head count in Canada has fallen to 9,000 — including 3,400 in Quebec — from 20,000 in 2013.
For that, the Montreal-based company is seen as a provincial crown jewel that needs to be protected despite having its reputation tarnished in 2012 over bribery allegations that led to convictions of several senior executives, says an industry observer.
The province is acutely sensitive about losing another corporate headquarters — and associated jobs in law, accounting and consulting — following the exodus of many in the 1970s and later the sale of aluminum producer Alcan to Rio Tinto and Rona to U.S. rival Lowe’s, said Karl Moore, a professor at McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management.
“There’s a sense that we don’t want to lose any more corporate headquarters,” he said in an interview.
The new provincial government appears ready to assist SNC-Lavalin from any takeover attempt by reportedly putting it on a list of 10 “strategically important” companies....
...And so, the reported political pressure from the Prime Minister’s Office on former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould — denied by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — to help SNC-Lavalin avoid a criminal prosecution is viewed differently in Quebec, said Moore....
I am not quite sure why the cabinet is leaving, but, I do know that PM Trudeau pledged to have a better relationship with the native people. AG Jody Wilson-Raybould is a native person, so in putting her in the AG office was a major coup for all native people.
She was looking at this company to prosecute those involved with a bribery scandal some time ago in Libya when Gadhafi was still in power. She probably is correct in looking to corruption carried out internationally, however, the legislature did not believe it should be the destruction of the company.
I am going to precede this article by saying the world knows the habits of Gadaffi and his family, especially when it comes to women and the "forever party" they believed they were entitled to. In that lies a guarantee for corruption.
AG Jody Wilson-Raybould found the Canadian involvement with these elements objectionable and rightfully so, but, the legislature took a pragmatic view rather than an idealistic one. PM Trudeau is caught between an AG Native Canadian attempting to live up to the dignity of women and corruption standards she rightfully adheres to and a legislature protecting the jobs of Canadians. To hold PM Trudeau responsible for legislation that was to protect Canadians and their futures is more political than rational. This is not his war.
I wish AG Jody Wilson-Raybould had set her initiative on the shelf while continuing to build a case for the antics of the Gadaffi family and the brevity of their role in this unfortunate case of SNC Lavalin. She can still produce a good effect if she will continue her investigation and at this point publish a book about the wayward enterprises engaged with Gadhaffi. It is import for the world to understand the ruthlessness of that regime and ways to prevent such problems in the future. AG Jody Wilson-Raybould still has a remarkable opportunity before her even as a private citizen.
March 3, 2019
By Scott Taylor
...As a result of the increased scrutiny, (click here) we are now aware of many of the more sordid details of the alleged bribery at the centre of this burgeoning scandal. According to media reports, back in 2008, Saadi Gadhafi, the third son of the late Libyan president, came to Canada as a guest of SNC-Lavalin. The Quebec based engineering corporation was seeking to curry favour with Gadhafi the younger in order to land lucrative construction contracts in Libya worth millions of dollars.
Hired to protect Saadi during his stay was GardaWorld, but the services actually provided went far beyond close-in protection. It is alleged that Garda submitted bills to SNC-Lavalin totaling about $30,000 for debauchery ranging from high-class escorts to tickets for a Spice Girls concert....
Prime Minister Trudeau needs to reflect on the values he brought to the Canadian people, the exercising of his promises and ultimately the reason the AG left in the face of obvious wrong doing of SNC-Lavalin.
He needs to strike a consiliatory tone with the Canadian people and reiterate to carry out his promises to the native people and women. I do believe he is sincere in those views and for his Prime Ministership to be trashed for others less sincere is a poor decision by the Canadian people.
He needs to continue to listen to the concerns over the events in Libya. He can reflect the wishes of the Canadian legislature and the views of Montreal and Quebec in regard to SNC-Lavalin. The actions of the company was wrong to any reasonable morality. But, Libya has been and will continue to be a global concern and the question is how much of the past was actually that of the company by choice or by intimidation of the Gadaffi family.
About the immigrant children that have fallen ill and died.
I don't know if anyone has suggested this and the WHO and CDC probably already have, but, the children should be considered lacking enough IgG to fight off the infection. Comparing their IgG to that of healthy American children of a comparable age may indicate the need for an infusion of IgG if they fall ill.
There is also the issue of malnutrition during their journey and their stores of vitamins and minerals may be depleted, hence, perhaps IV lipids and amino acids and all the large molecules such as potassium and magnesium might be in order.
There is also the issue of malnutrition during their journey and their stores of vitamins and minerals may be depleted, hence, perhaps IV lipids and amino acids and all the large molecules such as potassium and magnesium might be in order.
Capture and Release works. The Trump White House is using the worst possible policies that can be called "Capture and Detained."
The current number of border crossers are not historic high numbers and they were absorbed without a border wall in their way. Historically, the border crossers were in worse health than those today. Our foreign policies work and they have been discontinued.
The President has caused the increasing number of border crossers. Enough of this.
Senate: Democrats needed to override veto - 16
House: Democrats need 42 to 45 more votes for 2/3 majority
March 5, 2019
By Caitlin Dickerson
For the fourth time in five months, (click here) the number of migrant families crossing the southwest border has broken records, border enforcement authorities said Tuesday, warning that government facilities are full and agents are overwhelmed.
More than 76,000 migrants crossed the border without authorization in February, more than double the levels from the same period last year and approaching the largest numbers seen in any February in the last 12 years.
“The system is well beyond capacity, and remains at the breaking point,” Kevin K. McAleenan, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, told reporters in announcing the new data.
Diverted by new restrictions at many of the leading ports of entry, migrant families, mainly from Central America, continue to arrive in ever-larger groups in remote parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. At least 70 such groups of 100 or more people have turned themselves in at Border Patrol stations that typically are staffed by only a handful of agents, often hours away from civilization. By comparison, only 13 such groups arrived in the last fiscal year, and two in the year before....
The cut in USA Aid to the Northern Triad is exactly why there are human caravans to the USA southern border seeking asylum and work. Without this aid the people are facing death from starvation and/or the drug cartels as the only employer available.
This crisis is caused by Trump's horrible foreign policies that CREATE victims seeking personal safety and productive life.
Rather than digging in and finding solutions for these countries, Trump has made it many times worse.
October 22, 2018
President Donald Trump announced (click here) that the U.S. would begin "cutting off or substantially reducing" the "massive" foreign aid it delivered to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, after the U.S. leader accused the three countries of failing to stop a caravan of Central American migrants making its way to the U.S. to claim asylum.
"Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were not able to do the job of stopping people from leaving their country and coming illegally to the U.S.," Trump said in a Twitter statement Monday morning.
"We will now begin cutting off, or substantially reducing, the massive foreign aid routinely given to them," he continued....
The USA budget sequestration was passed in 2013. The article below is from 2014 written by the Heritage Foundation regarding the best outcomes for the Northern Triad.
It should be noted, in 2009 there was a coup d’état of the Honduran government due to ballot initiative that would have convened a National Constituent Assembly to amend the constitution. President Obama suspended funding for the fight against drug cartels. I think President Obama believed the coup would misuse the funding. As a result the cartels moved back into the region once secured away from them.
Suspending assistance to the Northern Triad does not help regardless of the leadership, it creates opportunity for criminals and threatens the USA national security.
These principles are sound and the end of the funding to these countries by Trump has created the influx of people to the USA-Mexican Border. This is a complicated issue and building a border wall only causes more problems without a clear resolve.
We already know what works and it is obvious sabotage of those initiatives will result in problems at the southern border.
Once again, the current administration is creating a greater internal crisis for the USA by detaining asylum seekers that were abandoned by our financial assistance.
...It cannot be denied that Mexico and Central America’s Northern Triangle (click here) countries—Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador—are all facing chronic citizen and economic insecurity crises. Rampant corruption and weak state institutions have made it virtually impossible to combat threats posed by violent transnational gangs and organized criminal groups. Coupled with the issue of endemic corruption, the regional debt crises and weak state institutions plague the region. Honduras has the world’s highest homicide rates, averaging 91 per 100,000 citizens. El Salvador is fourth in the world with an average of 41 per 100,000, and Guatemala is fifth at 40 per 100,000. (In comparison, the U.S. average is five per 100,000.) Located along a critical trafficking route, the isthmus is particularly vulnerable to illicit smuggling. Honduras alone is a layover spot for upwards of 79 percent of northward-bound drug flights....
...U.S. security objectives in Central America are codified in the Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI), which focuses on:
Creating safe streets for citizens in the region;
Disrupting the movements of criminals and contraband to, within, and between the nations of Central America;
Supporting the development of strong, capable, and accountable Central American governments;
Re-establishing effective state presence and security in communities at risk; and
Fostering enhanced levels of security coordination and cooperation among nations in the region.
Implementation and funding for these programs come from four State Department accounts: International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE); Nonproliferation, Anti-Terrorism, Demining and Relations Programs; Foreign Military Financing; and the Economic Support Fund. In addition, there are various agencies implementing CARSI objectives outside the State Department’s funding purview: the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Department of the Treasury. A number of security assistance accounts, such as the International Military Education and Training (which promotes professional military education) and the Democracy Fund supplement these initiatives....
...Recognize that defense cuts have adversely affected the U.S.’s drug interdiction capabilities. Defense budget cuts are reducing the U.S.’s ability to intercept maritime trafficking, and as a result, profits continue to fuel Mexican cartels and Central American gangs. Current asset shortfalls left the U.S. unable to prevent 25 percent of suspected maritime drug smuggling in fiscal year (FY) 2013.
Support Mexican and Guatemalan border security efforts. In 2013, SOUTHCOM supported the new Guatemalan Interagency Task Force, which provides infrastructure and operational anti-trafficking support along the Mexico–Guatemalan border. Yet despite the heroic efforts of U.S. armed services, civilian personnel, and regional partners, congressional withholding requirements continue to hinder security cooperation efforts.
Increase security cooperation with Honduras. As the home of the world’s highest murder rate, Honduras is also the largest source of unlawful immigrants. Yet U.S. restrictions on security assistance have been in place since FY 2012.
Allow Honduras to repair its fleet of F-5 jet fighters. Congress blocked Honduras’s recent attempts to contract Israel’s repair services. Repairing this fleet would help offset the burden on the U.S. and support the country’s much-needed aerial interdiction capabilities.
Moving Forward
In recent years, chronic insecurity in Mexico and Central America has threatened regional stability and U.S. security interests. This recent crisis on the southwest border has raised concerns about not only U.S. immigration policy and border security, but also the utility of foreign assistance.
When used wisely, foreign aid is a key national security tool. It ensures U.S. partnerships, promotes like-minded democratic institutions, and provides the U.S. with leverage abroad. Congress should understand that as security conditions in the region continue to deteriorate, cutting foreign aid would undermine the U.S.’s security interests....
The President has caused the increasing number of border crossers. Enough of this.
Senate: Democrats needed to override veto - 16
House: Democrats need 42 to 45 more votes for 2/3 majority
March 5, 2019
By Caitlin Dickerson
For the fourth time in five months, (click here) the number of migrant families crossing the southwest border has broken records, border enforcement authorities said Tuesday, warning that government facilities are full and agents are overwhelmed.
More than 76,000 migrants crossed the border without authorization in February, more than double the levels from the same period last year and approaching the largest numbers seen in any February in the last 12 years.
“The system is well beyond capacity, and remains at the breaking point,” Kevin K. McAleenan, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, told reporters in announcing the new data.
Diverted by new restrictions at many of the leading ports of entry, migrant families, mainly from Central America, continue to arrive in ever-larger groups in remote parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. At least 70 such groups of 100 or more people have turned themselves in at Border Patrol stations that typically are staffed by only a handful of agents, often hours away from civilization. By comparison, only 13 such groups arrived in the last fiscal year, and two in the year before....
The cut in USA Aid to the Northern Triad is exactly why there are human caravans to the USA southern border seeking asylum and work. Without this aid the people are facing death from starvation and/or the drug cartels as the only employer available.
This crisis is caused by Trump's horrible foreign policies that CREATE victims seeking personal safety and productive life.
Rather than digging in and finding solutions for these countries, Trump has made it many times worse.
October 22, 2018
President Donald Trump announced (click here) that the U.S. would begin "cutting off or substantially reducing" the "massive" foreign aid it delivered to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, after the U.S. leader accused the three countries of failing to stop a caravan of Central American migrants making its way to the U.S. to claim asylum.
"Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were not able to do the job of stopping people from leaving their country and coming illegally to the U.S.," Trump said in a Twitter statement Monday morning.
"We will now begin cutting off, or substantially reducing, the massive foreign aid routinely given to them," he continued....
The USA budget sequestration was passed in 2013. The article below is from 2014 written by the Heritage Foundation regarding the best outcomes for the Northern Triad.
It should be noted, in 2009 there was a coup d’état of the Honduran government due to ballot initiative that would have convened a National Constituent Assembly to amend the constitution. President Obama suspended funding for the fight against drug cartels. I think President Obama believed the coup would misuse the funding. As a result the cartels moved back into the region once secured away from them.
Suspending assistance to the Northern Triad does not help regardless of the leadership, it creates opportunity for criminals and threatens the USA national security.
These principles are sound and the end of the funding to these countries by Trump has created the influx of people to the USA-Mexican Border. This is a complicated issue and building a border wall only causes more problems without a clear resolve.
We already know what works and it is obvious sabotage of those initiatives will result in problems at the southern border.
Once again, the current administration is creating a greater internal crisis for the USA by detaining asylum seekers that were abandoned by our financial assistance.
...It cannot be denied that Mexico and Central America’s Northern Triangle (click here) countries—Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador—are all facing chronic citizen and economic insecurity crises. Rampant corruption and weak state institutions have made it virtually impossible to combat threats posed by violent transnational gangs and organized criminal groups. Coupled with the issue of endemic corruption, the regional debt crises and weak state institutions plague the region. Honduras has the world’s highest homicide rates, averaging 91 per 100,000 citizens. El Salvador is fourth in the world with an average of 41 per 100,000, and Guatemala is fifth at 40 per 100,000. (In comparison, the U.S. average is five per 100,000.) Located along a critical trafficking route, the isthmus is particularly vulnerable to illicit smuggling. Honduras alone is a layover spot for upwards of 79 percent of northward-bound drug flights....
...U.S. security objectives in Central America are codified in the Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI), which focuses on:
Creating safe streets for citizens in the region;
Disrupting the movements of criminals and contraband to, within, and between the nations of Central America;
Supporting the development of strong, capable, and accountable Central American governments;
Re-establishing effective state presence and security in communities at risk; and
Fostering enhanced levels of security coordination and cooperation among nations in the region.
Implementation and funding for these programs come from four State Department accounts: International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE); Nonproliferation, Anti-Terrorism, Demining and Relations Programs; Foreign Military Financing; and the Economic Support Fund. In addition, there are various agencies implementing CARSI objectives outside the State Department’s funding purview: the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Department of the Treasury. A number of security assistance accounts, such as the International Military Education and Training (which promotes professional military education) and the Democracy Fund supplement these initiatives....
...Recognize that defense cuts have adversely affected the U.S.’s drug interdiction capabilities. Defense budget cuts are reducing the U.S.’s ability to intercept maritime trafficking, and as a result, profits continue to fuel Mexican cartels and Central American gangs. Current asset shortfalls left the U.S. unable to prevent 25 percent of suspected maritime drug smuggling in fiscal year (FY) 2013.
Support Mexican and Guatemalan border security efforts. In 2013, SOUTHCOM supported the new Guatemalan Interagency Task Force, which provides infrastructure and operational anti-trafficking support along the Mexico–Guatemalan border. Yet despite the heroic efforts of U.S. armed services, civilian personnel, and regional partners, congressional withholding requirements continue to hinder security cooperation efforts.
Increase security cooperation with Honduras. As the home of the world’s highest murder rate, Honduras is also the largest source of unlawful immigrants. Yet U.S. restrictions on security assistance have been in place since FY 2012.
Allow Honduras to repair its fleet of F-5 jet fighters. Congress blocked Honduras’s recent attempts to contract Israel’s repair services. Repairing this fleet would help offset the burden on the U.S. and support the country’s much-needed aerial interdiction capabilities.
Moving Forward
In recent years, chronic insecurity in Mexico and Central America has threatened regional stability and U.S. security interests. This recent crisis on the southwest border has raised concerns about not only U.S. immigration policy and border security, but also the utility of foreign assistance.
When used wisely, foreign aid is a key national security tool. It ensures U.S. partnerships, promotes like-minded democratic institutions, and provides the U.S. with leverage abroad. Congress should understand that as security conditions in the region continue to deteriorate, cutting foreign aid would undermine the U.S.’s security interests....
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