This is all a bunch of horseshit.

January 4, 2023

Written by Andy Jassy

As I shared back in November, (click here) as part of our annual planning process for 2023, leaders across the company have been working with their teams and looking at their workforce levels, investments they want to make in the future, and prioritizing what matters most to customers and the long-term health of our businesses. This year’s review has been more difficult given the uncertain economy and that we’ve hired rapidly over the last several years. In November, we communicated the hard decision to eliminate a number of positions across our Devices and Books businesses, and also announced a voluntary reduction offer for some employees in our People, Experience, and Technology (PXT) organization. I also shared that we weren’t done with our annual planning process and that I expected there would be more role reductions in early 2023.

Today, I wanted to share the outcome of these further reviews, which is the difficult decision to eliminate additional roles. Between the reductions we made in November and the ones we’re sharing today, we plan to eliminate just over 18,000 roles. Several teams are impacted; however, the majority of role eliminations are in our Amazon Stores and PXT organizations....

The US Department of Labor needs to review Amazon's recruitment and hiring methods. I am retired from a profession that allowed me to raise my family. I still perform some work as allowed by the Social Security Administration. I became fully retired this year and I can earn more money now if I care to, so when I received an invitation from Amazon to work from home I was curious. It turned out to be one of the most invasive processes I have ever witnessed. It was so invasive I discontinued the online document because I also had to commit to the company any and all information they could find. There was also a commitment to the company as if I were to pledge my dying love to Jeff Bezos.

I am fully tired of giant plutocratic companies that allow their owners to fly rockets to outer space. That is the function of the USA government and not every plutocrat on the planet. If they want to fly then commit to an astronaut program that has allegiance to the USA and not Wall Street.

For the past two decades plutocracy has been allowed by the Republicans for the sake of staying in power. There is nothing wrong with our democracy, there is a lot wrong with the politics of the Republicans. It is corruption. It is very easy to buy Republicans or a place in their party, just bring your checkbook.

But, as to Amazon, if they are reducing the size of their work force I congratulate them, at least 180 thousand people will not have to suffer the rigors of one of the most perverse employers in the country. I mean the idea van drivers can't look to their left or right because the company statistics say that causes accidents is bizarre and idiotic. Their employees are mostly unhappy at work. It is little difference than Walmart in their expunging the disabled as greeters while being willing to take their money as consumers.

All those companies are nothing but trouble because they are looking at their return to stockholders and not the well being of their employee shareholders. Stockholders don't care about the employees or their families who are equal if not greater shareholders in the success of the company. That's right, if these companies lost every American as an employee tomorrow with no one to replace them, they would shutter their doors and Main Street would be all the better for it.

It was amazing to watch how China removed COVID restrictions while telling their restless people to go back to work, while predicting a million dead of this wave in China. IT WAS THE NEXT DAY THAT WALL STREET NUMBERS RETURNED TO THE POSITIVE SIDE OF PROFIT. Amazing. Chinese die and no one on Wall Street can give a dam. All Xi had to do was turn the key for Wall Street and China was golden again.

So, how much is a million Chinese worth to Wall Street? Zero. Zero dollars because they stood in the way of stockholder returns.

I am more than pleased to see these companies reduce their workforce because it means the USA economy again belongs to the people and we are on the right path to a balance between profitability and the workers quality of life.

Death to plutocracy, it is a killer.

At 6:20 pm an Amazon ad to sucker punch you hit my email. “New Amazon Jobs (Remote).” DO NOT DO IT!

I know who to trust and it isn't the right wing media that drove Mr. Peart crazy.

January 5, 2023

By Greg Jaffe

...This was one lesson from the brave Israelites’ story. (click here) His experiences over the last two years had left him wondering if it was the right one. The facts of the Jan. 6 riot have been documented in more than 14,000 hours of video surveillance from the Capitol, hundreds of hours of congressional testimony and millions of pages of documents. The truth was out there, available for all to see. But Peart still didn’t know who to trust. Nor, it seemed, did the country.

Peart was in the same chair that he had been sitting in during his sentencing hearing, in a part of America where many still questioned the outcome of the 2020 election and viewed the rioters’ cause as legitimate.

He fingered his leather-bound Bible and struggled to reconcile the fearful far-right voices that he had long relied on with his comfortable life, the federal judge’s compassion and, most of all, Jung’s kindness and mercy.

“I know who my God is,” Peart said. “But I’m still figuring out who I am.”

There is no doubt in the 2020 elections. These Americans are confused about their own idea of democracy. They remind me of a suitor that can't make a commitment to a girlfriend enough to get married. These Americans are caught in the faux parallel universe of right wing media that taps them for the money they spend on their advertisers.

As far as I am concerned they are nothing but a bunch of sore losers that hang on to a faux parallel reality created to tap their money for products and politics.

This is an easy one. Americans have to commit their belief in their constitution and its election process. It is the largest number of democratic voters in the world. There is no other democracy with such vibrant differences in their perspectives. All that is legal up to the point where it undermines the rule of law for the sake of growing extremism for profit.

I have no use for Right Wing Whiners. They are pathetic.

There is one flag and it is defined by the USA Constitution. Get over it!

The Insurgency

Are those unwilling to settle on a Speaker in order to govern members of the insurgency? There were members of Congress willing to have a coup happen on January 6th.

I am glad the Senate majority remains with the Democratic Party. If the Senate had gone Republican we might be seeing a rush to vote a Speaker in the House.

It is a huge mistake to trust Republicans with the country.

January 4, 2022
By Kirby Wilson

Byron Daniels for Congress (click here)

...During the fourth and fifth rounds of voting (click here) for speaker of the U.S. House, at least 20 of Donalds’ Republican colleagues — all staunchly conservative members — cast their votes not for McCarthy, R-Calif., the party’s longtime House leader, but for Donalds.

Given the narrow Republican majority in the House — and the Democrats’ unity in supporting their leader, Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., for speaker — those 20 votes comprised the difference between McCarthy winning the office of speaker and a historic stalemate. (Prior to this week, no vote for House speaker had gone past the first round of voting in a century.)

It’s not Donalds’ first foray into Republican U.S. House leadership. Late last year, he ran for the No. 3 leadership position but lost to Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, 144-74.

Donalds is being backed by a small but vocal group of Republican holdouts who do not want to see McCarthy gain the powerful House speaker position. It’s unlikely Donalds will gain the votes to hold the position this time around. But as of Wednesday afternoon, it was also unclear whom Republicans could nominate who could gain the needed majority of votes....

January 4, 2023
By Ryan Dailey

As Gov. Ron DeSantis (click here) targets “trendy ideology” in higher education, his administration is asking state colleges and universities for information about resources they are putting into activities related to diversity, equity and inclusion and critical race theory.

DeSantis has made the fight against critical race theory — which is based on the premise that racism is embedded in American institutions — a linchpin of his education and political agenda.

During an inauguration speech Tuesday to start his second term, DeSantis took aim at ideological issues on campuses.

“We must ensure school systems are responsive to parents and to students, not partisan interest groups, and we must ensure that our institutions of higher learning are focused on academic excellence and the pursuit of truth, not the imposition of trendy ideology,” the governor said in his prepared remarks.

Chris Spencer, director of DeSantis’ Office of Policy and Budget, sent a memo Dec. 28 to Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. and state university system Chancellor Ray Rodrigues, who oversee the college and university systems....

A vote for McCarthy..

 …is a vote for Trump. The Florida trip and photo is McCarthy’s downfall. Jim Jordan never made that trip and is a natural liar. Are there pictures of Trump and Jordan? The Republicans want to distance themselves from Trump, so, Jordan may be the extremist without the Trump baggage.

The Republicans Dino want to appear to be the voice of Trump in everything that the US House puts forward. Every time McCarthy makes a decision and utters a word it will be viewed as McCarthy as Trump’s avatar.

I think this is the way the next two years will roll out, one opposition after another. The Dems need to focus on budgetary provisions otherwise the government, including the military, will shut down for extended periods of time. 

The President and Senate Majority Leader are in Lentucky to display a sense of bipartisanship. That won’t matter if the US House majority is mired in one deadlock after another. The only legislation that needs focus is the budget.

Kindly recall the leadership of Paul Ryan. Expect that, but, worse. Ryan made history as the Speaker with the least number of bills passed.

The failure to govern by McCarthy or whom ever will be another demonstration of Republican distinction and why their elections result in danger for the American people.

Why does anyone believe supply is going to get better?

"This Week in Petroleum - U.S. Energy" (click here)

Americans are very spoiled and are basically climate morons.

Ford might not be the first, (click here) but it might have the biggest impact.

So Americans have electric cars to choose from and they all perform differently than internal combustion engines. Earth thinks so, too.

But, it could be worse, we could all still be polluting carbon dioxide without any hope for the future of our children and grandchildren.

I LOL when I read this bellyaching about EVs. They are a wonderful discovery with nothing short of genius making it all possible to have a personal vehicle that does not add to the dangers of climate. If the EV is not particularly helpful in very cold weather, then take a train or bus if one is climate sensitive.

The future has hope today because of the engineering miracles arriving by all car companies. This year there are more and better EVs to choose from as a personal vehicle. The major manufacturers have really stepped up and they are even producing pick-up trucks. I am proud of them.

The costs are becoming more reasonable. There are even used cars such as the Toyota Prius (click here). They are holding their value, but, still come in where most Middle Class folks spend.

American drivers need to realize they are taking care of the climate business when they purchase and live with an EV. So, stop being a politically correct climate moron who only seems to want to hold on to the internal combustion engine at all costs. It doesn't take long to learn exactly what those costs are including human lives. 

So, your EV is not performing perfectly upon demand in any weather.

Oh.

December 31, 2022

By Adina Achim

...Electrek states (click here) that “the video and media reports on it are creating some confusion.” The news website dedicated to electric transportation argues that “this is a malfunction with this gentleman’s specific vehicle” and not a problem that comes with charging a Tesla in colder temperatures.

“First off, it’s true that electric vehicle charging is affected by colder temperatures, but this is not normal,” says Electrek. “It takes time for the battery pack to warm up enough to accept higher charge rates. That’s why Tesla built-in a feature that enables the battery pack to condition itself for charging ahead of time if you enter a charge point in the navigation system.”...

...Meanwhile, Wired reminds us that lithium-ion batteries are highly sensitive to temperature changes.

“Batteries are like humans,” says Anna Stefanopoulou, director of the University of Michigan’s Energy Institute. “They prefer the same sort of temperature range that people do. Anything below 40 or above 115 degrees Fahrenheit, and they’re not going to deliver their peak performance. They like to be around 60 to 80 degrees. As the temperature drops, the electrolyte fluid inside the battery cells becomes more sluggish.”

The Norwegian Automobile Federation came to an identical conclusion, and it emphasized that cold weather can cut an EV's range by around 20 percent. It also mentioned that it takes longer to recharge under colder conditions....

Why should Bolsonaro look for asylum in the USA? He should stand trial no different than Trump.

It looks like democracy is off to a good start in 2023.

January 1, 2023
By Anthony Boadle and Gabriel Stargardler

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (click here) arrives to the Planalto Palace with a group representing diverse segments of society after he was sworn in as new president in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023.

Brasilia - Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (click here) was sworn in as Brazil's president on Sunday, delivering a searing indictment of far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro and vowing a drastic change of course to rescue a nation plagued with hunger, poverty and racism.

In a speech to Congress after officially taking the reins of Latin America's biggest country, the leftist said democracy was the true winner of the October presidential vote, when he ousted Bolsonaro in the most fraught election for a generation.

Bolsonaro, who left Brazil for the United States on Friday after refusing to concede defeat, rattled the cages of Brazil's young democracy with baseless claims of electoral weaknesses that birthed a violent movement of election deniers...

...Bolsonaro finally condemned the bomb plot in a Dec. 30 farewell address on social media, hours before flying to the U.S.. His absence on inauguration day marks a break with tradition....

President Biden can end the Iranian drone attacks if he meets them with the weapon that inspired them.

December 7, 2011
By Scott Shane and David E. Sanger

The Shahed 136 (click here) is an Iranian loitering munition, (suicide drone). In Persian Shahed stands for Witness. This drone was designed by Shahed Aviation Industries and produced by HESA. In 2019 this drone was launched from Iran against the Saudi oil plant....

Washington - The stealth C.I.A. drone (click here) that crashed deep inside Iranian territory last week was part of a stepped-up surveillance program that has frequently sent the United States’ most hard-to-detect drone into the country to map suspected nuclear sites, according to foreign officials and American experts who have been briefed on the effort.

Until this week, the high-altitude flights from bases in Afghanistan were among the most secret of many intelligence-collection efforts against Iran, and American officials refuse to discuss it. But the crash of the vehicle, which Iranian officials said occurred more than 140 miles from the border with Afghanistan, blew the program’s cover.

The overflights by the bat-winged RQ-170 Sentinel, built by Lockheed Martin and first glimpsed on an airfield in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2009, are part of an increasingly aggressive intelligence collection program aimed at Iran, current and former officials say. The urgency of the effort has been underscored by a recent public debate in Israel about whether time is running out for a military strike to slow Iran’s progress toward a nuclear weapon....

Iran's drones have to be met with weapons to counter it's ability to kill and destroy within Ukraine. The Iranian threats are all too real. Among the real threats to the globe is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. It is a real threat to international stability and Russia is counting on it. Iran had to contribute to the voracity of the alliance, hence, the drones. Iran could not go on forever seeking to be protected without offering a reason to be an ally to communist countries. Iran now has thrown its support to Belarus to join the SCO. Initially the SCO was organized to support trade and peace, that has morphed into an alliance to fight Putin's wars.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) (click here)  is an intergovernmental organization founded in Shanghai on 15 June 2001. The SCO currently comprises eight Member States (China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), four Observer States interested in acceding to full membership (Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia) and six “Dialogue Partners” (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey). In 2021, the decision was made to start the accession process of Iran to the SCO as a full member, and Egypt, Qatar as well as Saudi Arabia became dialogue partners. 

Since its inception in 2001, the SCO has mainly focused on regional security issues, its fight against regional terrorism, ethnic separatism and religious extremism. To date, the SCO’s priorities also include regional development....

The SCO has become a convenient method to circumvent the Free World sanctions. 

December 14, 2022

Iran’s trade with Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s member states, (click here) excluding crude oil exports, stood at 33.8 million tons worth $27.02 billion during the first eight months of the current fiscal year (March 21-Nov. 21), latest data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration show.

China with 23.03 million tons worth $9.78 billion was Iran’s main trade partner among SCO member states during the period. It was followed by India with 4.51 million tons worth $1.93 billion and Russia with 2.62 million tons worth $1.01 billion.

Iranian exports hit 27.18 million tons worth $13.47 billion during the period.

China with 20.27 million tons worth $10.41 billion, India with 3.18 million tons worth $1.26 billion and Pakistan with 2.62 million tons worth $1.01 million were the main export destinations....

November 16, 2022

Before the outbreak of recent mass protests, (click here) Iranian leaders were working to ameliorate their country’s international isolation through official membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). According to the official state news agency, Iranian officials still maintain that officially joining the SCO—which is slated to occur by April 2023—will bring benefits in the economic, commercial, and strategic sectors. Furthermore, from the perspective of the SCO itself, Iran's political cooperation may be useful for the organization’s relations with the Islamic world. However, considering the impact of international sanctions and other forms of pressure—which have only intensified following Iran’s crackdown on protests—this step may not bring about radical change in the region’s geopolitics....

The USA holds responsibility to ending the assault of Iranian drones on Ukraine. IF. There is actually an end in sight. Russia is losing the war. It is bombarding Ukraine because it is the only hope it has to maintain a militarized zone at its borders with Ukraine.

Russia is hoping it's new surviving General Sergey Surovikin (click here) will prove to be the military prowess it needs to turn the corner in Ukraine. Other Generals that attempted Putin's political war with Ukraine have been assassinated. There is also a report of a Russian business man and wife falling to their deaths in India (click here).

Putin's new general is bombarding the Ukraine borders in hopes to buy time to improve the Russian military. Dmitry Medvedev, the former president of Russia that was a place holder until Putin could be made permanent Czar, is taking a new posture. He is going to succeed in transforming the Russia military into a juggernaut. At least that is the propaganda. Medvedev has received a head nod from Putin. How many people of the original government industrial complex is still living anyway?

1 August 2022
By Shaun Walker

Joe Biden is a “strange grandfather with dementia”. (click here) The EU leadership are “lunatics”. Russia will ensure that Ukraine “disappears from the map” in the near future.

Welcome to another week as seen through the eyes of Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president and prime minister, and currently the deputy head of the country’s security council....

President Biden is indeed a grandfather that predicted Russia's initial invasion into Ukraine long before it took place. That is hardly demented. But, Medvedev has to say something to the remaining citizens in Russia.

Russia is seeking every affiliation it has to rework it's aggression and try to overtake Ukraine's defenses. It is using missiles to prolong an attack in hopes of reworking it's military to not only sustain the militarized borders, but, escalate the war to remove and/or kill all Ukrainians from their homeland.

This is genocide. It began as a "walk in the park" military action by Vladimir Putin to fit his politics and maintain control with the communists that line the Kremlin. More than 50 percent of Russians oppose his dictatorship and many of those have left Russian borders for safer land to avoid military service which is basically suicide.

It is unfortunate, but, the affiliates of Russia, including those in the SCO are more or less supporting this genocide. The leadership of the SCO need to be made to understand they are supporting genocide and in that a danger to their people if their participation escalates this conflict.

Trials regarding the Ukraine genocide by Russia needs to begin in absentia. The world needs to understand this is not politics, this is genocide and any participation in it results in guilty findings in the world courts.

She will always be a hero that loved her country and its Constitution.

December 28, 2022

2022 was a year of political splintering in Wyoming; (click here) a year in which the effects of the Colorado River water crisis traveled upstream to the state’s river banks; a year when a “trigger” law banning most abortions boiled over into a debate about the fundamental rights of Wyoming residents.

Though the Republican Party continued to consolidate power in this ultra-red state, U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney was ousted in a high-profile takedown after turning against former President Donald Trump. Intra-party tensions, meanwhile, deepened longstanding divisions in the party.

Wildlife managers had their hands full as chronic wasting disease continued its insidious spread, ungulates overran private land and development plans collided with wildlife values. The consequences of budget cuts to mental and behavioral health resources grew more troubling with an uptick in violence and use of restraints at the Wyoming Boys’ School as well as reported crises within school communities. Resignations from top offices led to accusations of political allegiance trumping experience or qualifications in the appointment process. And four Missouri hunters, a checkerboard pattern of land ownership and a heated debate over what constitutes trespass turned into a national story of inaccessible public land....

...As Wyoming’s lone representative in the House of Representatives, Liz Cheney voted with former President Donald Trump 93% of the time. The staunch conservative and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney was popular in Wyoming through her first four years in office. But following the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Cheney launched an unsparing if lonely campaign to repudiate and hold Trump accountable for his role in inciting the crowds.

Cheney quickly began to lose favor of the Republican Party, which censured her on county, state and national levels. Trump placed her squarely in his cross-hairs, hand-picking Cheyenne attorney Harriet Hageman to unseat Cheney in the August primary. What ensued was an increasingly public spat and a Wyoming political race that drew international curiosity as people wondered: Would Cheney’s disloyalty to Trump cost her her job?

In ultra-red Wyoming, where some voters wondered if she was too focused on Jan. 6 work and others said they lost interest in the cause, the answer appeared to be yes. Hageman easily ousted Cheney, winning nearly 70% of primary votes....

The work the January 6th Committee did is proving to be correct, laudable and legally intact. It is exceptional work by a US House Committee, a group of legislators that love their country, its democracy and its Constitution. They have every reason to be proud.

I find it unfortunate, the Republican Party remains divisive in their radical rhetoric and politics. It is not the time for division of loyalties. The Party does not take precedent over the USA Constitution. They are wrong and Liz Cheney as well as Adam Kinzinger are national heroes along with the other members. Shame on the GOP for being irreverent to their own country's constitution. It brings Republican politics scrutiny.

Judge: Jan. 6 committee evidence suggests Trump asked rally crowd to break the law

December 28, 2022

By Kyle Cheney

The Jan. 6 select committee’s finding that Donald Trump lured followers (click here) to storm the Capitol does not absolve them of legal responsibility for their actions, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, the first opinion to cite the congressional panel’s criminal referrals of the former president.

U.S. District Court Judge John Bates cited the select committee’s report and criminal referrals to swat down a Jan. 6 defendant’s claim that he believed Trump had authorized him and other rioters to enter the Capitol when he urged the crowd to march down Pennsylvania Avenue.

Bates, an appointee of President George W. Bush, ruled that defendant Alexander Sheppard should be prohibited from making the “public authority” defense because there’s simply no evidence Trump told his followers that entering the restricted grounds of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was legal. In fact, his incendiary rhetoric — especially telling his supporters to “fight like hell” — may suggest Trump was asking them to break the law, Bates said.

His words “could signal to protesters that entering the Capitol and stopping the certification would be unlawful,” Bates found.

Bates’ ruling is the first to reckon with the select committee’s finding that Trump violated at least four federal laws in his crusade to subvert the 2020 election. And it is an early window into how the judiciary might interpret the unusual findings of criminal violations by a congressional committee....

The can be only one reason…

 …why Elon bought Twitter, he wants to control the dialog to advance his chances at being President of the USA.

A man that has clearance into NASA’s launch pads and control rooms wants to take the agency in directions that serve the imagination.

No one can argue about his genus. But, he is trying to appear more red than blue with his move to Texas and his mingling with million-billionaires that would like to see Dogcoin as the USA’s official currency and why? A Wall Street currency would look attractive if it increases in value to pay down the national debt.

A man that believes in democracy, capitalism and free markets purchases an enormous and very influential social media program, fires executives, becomes chief cook and bottle washer, throws journalists opposed to his policies off Twitter while keeping their media organizations in full view.

Hm?

Then in what seems more appalling and somewhat bizarre, Elon decides those banned from Twitter must be allowed to return as it is free speech after all.

Let me ask just one question. Just one. Where best is it debated as to who is the better candidate for president, Elon or any other opponent? Being completely open about opinions of others by allowing a platform to launch any candidate into celebrity, where is it best debated? 

End of discussion.

Except, with a Robert’s court that rewards money as a citizen, the platform is also very lucrative. Assuming the debate takes place on Twitter. 

We are getting there, one step at a time.

Near border allies of Russia cannot be tolerated. Guido's government was elected by the people. Basically, Maduro holds power because of the military which is still loyal to him. Maduro's government is a coupe government due to a "clientele" strategy (click here).

Clientele for creating a government when there is none is based in corruption and criminal content. Hezbollah has a hold on the drug trade from Venezuela. It's continued interest in Venezuela's corruption has made Hezbollah stronger with sales from the drug market. Maduro is served by the illegal drug trade because it pays the military to serve him and Hezbollah. Hezbollah is a client of the Maduro dictatorship. Russia is a client of Maduro to attempt a near border regime to the USA.

The USA is trying to assist the people of Venezuela to return it's democracy. The delicate representation of democracy in Venezuela by Guido is still susceptible to instability and those not served by democracy, but, by Maduro's clientele government oppose the return of democracy. In addition, there are power players that want to be the answer to the instability they will cause by rejecting Guido in a parliamentary vote.

As a side note and in reflection of the Biden Administration's policies and efforts, Trump backed Maduro mid 2020 after he took office. No surprise there. Just before leaving office he reversed his position with the entrance of the Biden Administration.

June 19, 2021

The Trump administration (click here) issued a parting shot at Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Tuesday, announcing a sweeping round of stiff financial sanctions that target a network accused of moving oil on behalf of the president’s alleged frontman.

In a sign of future U.S. policy toward Venezuela, President-elect Joe Biden’s choice to be secretary of state, Antony Blinken, during his U.S. Senate confirmation hearing in Washington showed support for the decision to recognize opposition politician and Maduro rival Juan Guaidó.

Blinken also expressed frustration about the results of current U.S. policy, which hasn’t led to free and fair elections in Venezuela. He said there is room for better coordination with allied nations to restore democracy to the crisis-stricken South American nation....

December 28, 2022
By Antonio Maria DelGado

A majority bloc of the Venezuelan opposition (click here) is preparing to dissolve the so-called interim government of opposition leader Juan Guaidó, in a controversial move described as a logical step by 
some but that others see as an error that will end up benefittng the Nicolas Maduro regime.

The move against Guidó is supported by more than two thirds of the 112 deputies who originally appointed him as interim president of Venezuela after declaring that Maduro was illegally holding power after committing massive fraud during the 2018 presidential election. While the opposition leader held no real power inside Venezuela, his appointment as Venezuela’s legitimate leader was recognized by the United States and nearly 50 other nations.

The vote to ratify the dissolution of the interim government is scheduled for Thursday, but sources within the National Assembly said the process could extend until Friday or even next week, given that some deputies were requesting on Wednesday to postpone the proceedings....

March 5, 2022
By Anatoly Kurmanaev, Natalie Kitroeff and Kenneth P. Vogel

Senior U.S. officials (click here) are traveling to Venezuela on Saturday to meet with the government of President Nicolás Maduro, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Biden administration steps up efforts to separate Russia from its remaining international allies amid a widening standoff over Ukraine.

The trip is the highest-level visit by Washington officials to Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, in years. The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Mr. Maduro and closed its embassy in Caracas in 2019, after accusing the authoritarian leader of electoral fraud. The Trump administration then tried to topple Mr. Maduro’s government by sanctioning Venezuelan oil exports and the country’s senior officials, and by recognizing the opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, as Venezuela’s lawful president.

Mr. Maduro responded to the sanctions by seeking economic and diplomatic help from Russia, as well as from Iran and China. Russian energy companies and banks have been instrumental in allowing Venezuela to continue exporting oil, the country’s biggest source of foreign currency, despite the sanctions, according to U.S. officials, Venezuelan officials and businessmen...

December 23, 2022
by Joshua Goodman

Miami - A federal judge in Miami on Friday (click here) rejected attempts by a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to shield himself from criminal charges, ruling Alex Saab isn't entitled to diplomatic immunity in the U.S. and must stand trial on accusations of money laundering.

The l egal fight over Saab's purported diplomatic status was being closely watched by Maduro's socialist government, which has demanded the release of the Colombian-born businessman as part of furtive negotiations with the Biden administration.

The U.S. in 2019 stopped recognizing Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate leader, and Judge Robert Scola cited that determination as a basis for rejecting Saab's motion to dismiss the criminal charges.

He also sided with prosecutors who raised doubts about the legitimacy of several official Venezuelan credentials that Saab relied on to bolster his claim to diplomatic status — and questioned why he never mentioned his purported diplomatic status in several secret meetings with U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents.

“The evidence suggests that the Maduro regime and its accomplices have fabricated documents to cloak Saab Moran in a diplomatic dress that does not befit him, all in an effort to exploit the law of diplomatic immunities and prevent his extradition to the United States,” the judge wrote....

February 19, 2018

...But while global warming (click here) isn't in the foreground of the Venezuelan story, it may be part of the backdrop. That's because much of the country's last decade has been marked by a severe and persistent drought, an occurrence that scientists say will become more frequent due to warming. Venezuela has also lost four of its five glaciers since the 1990s....

...A cold and snowy climate (click here) at high elevations is key for glaciers to exist in the tropics, the region of Earth straddling the equator between latitudes of about 30°N and 30°S. Most of Earth’s tropical glaciers are found in the tropical Andes, which runs through Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. But warming air temperatures have contributed to their decline, including Humboldt Glacier....

Drs. Mary Ball and Andrés Yarzábal and their team of undergraduate students, before beginning the ascent to La Corona glacier on top of Humboldt’s Peak in 2012.

...Centuries ago, (click here) the glaciers had covered the mountain in a thick layer of ice. Mérida was once famous for nearby ski competitions and ice merchants. But by 2012, when Yarzábal mounted his first expedition, all that was left to greet him on the mountain were two small ice fields. Nevertheless, Yarzábal and his colleagues were triumphant, taking samples of the glacial ice -- samples they hoped would contain life.

"It was a really amazing adventure," said Yarzábal, now at the Catholic University of Cuenca in Ecuador....

The loss of ice and snow destroys tourism economies that help the people of any country.

...In the absence of government action, (click here) international organisations and local activists are piecing together data on the extent of climate risks. The World Bank’s Climate Research Unit divides the country into five ‘climate groups’ to better understand seasonal precipitation and temperature patterns. The World Bank, and others, have observed how Venezuela has already lost four of its five glaciers since the early 1990s: the remaining Humboldt glacier is expected to disappear in under two decades. This will make Venezuela potentially the first country on earth to lose all its glaciers. The rapid retreat of the ice sheet is affecting water cycles and availability, though the government hopes somehow (don’t ask) that ‘global cooling’ could reverse these trends. Some universities and research institutes are also keeping tabs on other metrics of climate change, but with piecemeal data....

 Happy Kwanza.

The weather system coming from the west…

 …is bringing above freezing temperatures. That means while the country is digging out from a frozen state, it also needs to prepare for large scale flooding. While people are safe inside their homes right now, lower elevations near rivers and lakes need to add a caution for potential evacuation with rising temperatures. 

It is not only rising temperatures that cause slushy and slippery conditions, the system in the western USA can also bring rain which accelerates snow melt. All NGOs involved in these types of disasters should now be on alert, stocked and ready.

Happy New Year, everyone.

Scientists told you so.

The petroleum and coal carbon based energy industry and their corrupt politicians held more clout that human life and American prosperity.

They have to be stopped, charged with reckless endangerment…

…on a global scale and the EPA needs to bring charges for an atmospheric release of particulates where the delicate ozone resides. 

https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/12/24/1066041/a-startup-says-its-begun-releasing-particles-into-the-atmosphere-in-an-effort-to-tweak-the-climate/amp/

Geoengineering is reckless and stupid and there is research to prove it.

The start-ups are along the line of opportunistic capitalists. Sort of like all the million-billionaires that are building rockets with no real destination except government money to do so without any viable destination. 

Geoengineering to effect climate isn’t even necessary with the movement to alternative energies at the national level in most if not all Free World countries. The progress forward to zero greenhouse gas emissions is significant and reassuring that extreme measures require little consideration.

At least seven known dead in Buffalo, New York.

“This will go down in history (click here) as the most devastating storm in Buffalo’s long, storied history of having battled many battles, many major storms,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

The wind will take the body heat out of a person and leave them unable to realize they need to get indoors out of the freeze. Just, stay home. There is no reason good enough to be out in this weather, even to walk to the end of the driveway. The heat in the house has to be high enough to fight off the wind driven cold that robs a house of it's heat.

Buffalo is used to bad weather. They receive feet of snow in a storm all the time, but, this time it is below freezing with high wind. Sometimes being tough is not the best way to think about adverse weather. Sometimes people just need to surrender to the wind and cold and settle in with some warm, mulled apple cider.

When temperatures are 17 degrees Fahrenheit or 20 degrees Fahrenheit that is still 12 to 15 degrees below freezing. With air that cold wind will rob anyone of their body heat regardless of wearing very good ski suits. There is just sometimes when saying no to being strong enough to survive is the best path. Save it for the sunshine and sunglasses to fight the reflection off the brilliant white snow.

 

With all due respect, I never was told about a midwife. It seems out of sync with the story.

December 20, 2022
By Katie Yoder

A team of archaeologists (click here) has unearthed artifacts from an ancient Jewish burial cave associated with Salome, who according to some Christian traditions was a midwife at the Nativity of Jesus.

The cave is the site of a centuries-old Christian pilgrimage destination located in the Lachish region in central Israel, the Times of Israel reported Tuesday. Looters first happened upon the elaborate cave in 1982 before it was formally excavated in 1984. Now it’s being examined once again, and the team of researchers from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) is preparing to open it to the public.

“We believe that pilgrims would come here, rent an oil lamp, perform their prayers inside, and go on their way,” IAA archaeologist Zvi Firer said, according to the Times. “It’s like today when you go to the grave of a revered rabbi and light a candle there.”

The burial cave became a pilgrimage destination after local Christians identified it as Salome’s burial place in the Byzantine era, Firer said....

We need the DOJ to review all this. It is pure corruption as far as I am concerned.

There is no recognizable sense of justice anywhere. Bringing clean bottled water, fundraising for mitigating the disabled children to learn and other social programs to right the wrongs of Snyder's government is not justice. All the mitigation measures are expected, but, it is not justice, it is a rescue from injustice. The law never brought brevity to the crimes.

December 21, 2022
By Ed White

Prosecutors again lost a key decision Wednesday (click here) in another effort to revive charges against Michigan’s former health chief who was accused of negligence in certain deaths linked to the Flint water crisis.

The state appeals court said a Flint-area judge followed an “explicit directive” from the Michigan Supreme Court to dismiss an indictment against Nick Lyon.

“This court is unable to grant any relief,” a three-judge panel said in a terse order.

The Supreme Court in June said indictments returned by a one-judge grand jury in Genesee County were invalid. Nine people were charged, including former Gov. Rick Snyder, who was facing two misdemeanor counts of willful neglect of duty.“Mr. Lyon and his family are heartened by the dismissal of the prosecution’s appeal, as it demonstrates how our system of justice is to work,” defense attorney Chip Chamberlain said.

State-appointed managers switched Flint’s water source to the Flint River in 2014, but the water wasn’t treated to reduce its disastrous impact on old pipes. As a result, lead contaminated the system for 18 months.

Lyon, who was head of the state health department, had no role in the water switch. But the river was blamed for an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, which is typically caused by bacteria spreading through cooling systems.

Lyon and former chief medical executive Eden Wells were charged with involuntary manslaughter in nine deaths. They were accused of failing to timely warn the Flint area about the outbreak....

There is gross malpractice by the Snyder administration, including the AG's office. The AG's office completely ignored the events that were costing the people of Flint, Michigan their lives. They ignored it for over a year and even then it was treated as a political issue and not one of malicious neglect by the Snyder government. The Michigan Attorney General simply looked the other way. The charges brought were grossly inadequate for the brevity of the neglect. Snyder's responsibility was wiped clean by blaming the Emergency Managers and every other Michigan official remotely responsible for these crimes. There was a huge amount of money placed before the people of Flint and that is where it was supposed to stop. That is not a legal response, it was a diversion and the gaslighting of crimes.

Order date: 3/23/2022 (click here)

Docket No. 164191

PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Christopher Kessel
Plaintiff-Appellee,

v (Bypass Application)

(Genesee CC - Kelly, E)

NICHOLAS LYON, Chip Chamberlain
Defendant-Appellant. John Bursch
Summary

The defendant is facing criminal charges as a result of his alleged involvement in the Flint water crisis. Genesee Circuit Judge David Newblatt, acting as a one-person grand jury under MCL 767.3 and MCL 767.4, issued a felony indictment against the defendant. The defendant filed a motion to dismiss the indictment, arguing that he has a statutory right under MCL 767.4 to a preliminary examination and also asserting constitutional violations. The circuit court denied the motion to dismiss, and the defendant filed an interlocutory application for leave to appeal in the Court of Appeals. He then filed in the Supreme Court an application for leave to appeal prior to decision by the Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court has ordered oral argument on the application to address: (1) whether MCL 767.3 and MCL 767.4 violate Michigan’s constitutional requirement of separation of powers, Mich Const 1963, art III, § 2; (2) whether those statutes confer charging authority on a member of the judiciary; (3) whether a defendant charged after a proceeding conducted pursuant to MCL 767.3 and MCL 767.4 is entitled to a preliminary examination; and (4) whether the proceedings conducted pursuant to MCL 767.3 and MCL 767.4 violated due process, Mich Const 1963, art I, § 17.

Opinion of the Supreme Court of Michigan (click here)

PEOPLE v PEELER PEOPLE v BAIRD PEOPLE v LYON Docket Nos. 163667, 163672, and 164191. Argued on application for leave to appeal May 4, 2022. Decided June 28, 2022. Nancy Peeler (Docket No. 163667), Richard L. Baird (Docket No. 163672), and Nicolas Lyon (Docket No. 164191) were charged with various offenses in the Genesee Circuit Court for actions they took as state employees during the Flint water crisis. The cases did not proceed by the prosecutor issuing criminal complaints and then holding preliminary examinations in open court at which defendants could have heard and challenged the evidence against them. Instead, at the request of the Attorney General’s office, the prosecutor proceeded under MCL 767.3 and MCL 767.4, which authorize the use of a “one-man grand jury.” Judge David Newblatt served as the one-man grand jury, considered the evidence behind closed doors, and then issued indictments against defendants; defendants’ cases were assigned to a Genesee Circuit Court judge....

Wall Street are the biggest cry babies.

Goldman Sachs was never all that before the Bush economic collapse. Henry Paulson came riding to the rescue when then US Treasury Secretary John Snow had no clue about what was happening on Wall Street. Snow replaced the Late Paul O'Neil (click here) that wrote a book describing the methods of the "W" White House.

At any rate, Goldman's announcement of a large number of layoffs should be no surprise. Goldman and Paulson put a lot of investment into China and it has blown up in their face.

There will be little sympathy for the year end bonuses.

December 23, 2022
By Dan DeFrancesco

You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. (click here)

When things were going good, Goldman Sachs' CEO David Solomon could seemingly do no wrong. Last year, thanks to a booming M&A market and a favorable trading environment, life was good at the elite Wall Street bank.

Sure, there were some signs of trouble within Goldman's consumer business, as Insider reported at the time, but who could be bothered worrying about that. Everyone — even the juniors — was making money!

Fast forward to today and boy are things different. The M&A market has been about as quiet as a church mouse, the consumer division is on its last legs, layoffs have hit the bank, and the juniors are getting worked to the bone again.

As if all that wasn't bad enough, word has come down that bankers shouldn't get their hopes up about year-end bonuses. And while most banks plan on handing out lighter payouts, Goldman's are shaping up to be considerably smaller compared with last year....

See, the CEOs of Wall Street don't understand when the USA economy is actually working for the working class and why that is a good thing. For the first time since the early Clinton the USA Middle Class is doing well. It is from my perspective. The salaries of workers have increased and not just a little bit. The average American worker is now making a living wage. 

The American worker is not only making a living wage, but, the unemployment insurance that came from the federal government helped them pull out of debt and find a path that would be better for their families. Recently there was an article that Americans have returned to the debt level before the pandemic. That might be the case, but, they are doing so from a better financial base than they had before. And the return to pre-pandemic debt levels were recent, like for the holidays. Who doesn't go into debt at that time of year?

The reason Wall Street can be seen crying in their beer is because the money is no longer at the top, it is in the hands of the people that make the CEO's job possible; the workers, the producers of the wealth, the assembly persons, the folks in the warehouse working tonight to mail out those packages as soon as they can to hopefully make it to Santa in time for his sleight ride. Also the delivery people and the chefs and grocers make living possible even through a pandemic. Not only livable, but, who ever thought Americans would still be getting their favorite pizza through the pandemic?

The CEOs that are not receiving a big check at the end of the year still have reasons to smile. Their companies kept America going through some wickedly bad times. The CEOs also backed candidates that love this country and its people. The Dems kept money flowing as McConnell bellyached the important people weren't getting the help so much as the Middle Class that will simply waste it all. McConnell was complaining during the height of the pandemic that the Middle Class was actually purchasing big ticket items like Quads, Boats and the like. What a jerk McConnell was and still is.

The good news is there will be no recession like Wall Street predicts. Why? Because the American Middle Class is the largest producing and consuming group of people in the USA and the world. When a large number of people are still working, collecting value and worth, purchasing items that sometimes require a loan, there is no recession. Now, Wall Street might be in recession, but, so what. A Wall Street recession simply means the stockholders aren't getting high dividends and CEOs can't collect on that part of their contract because they have not outperformed previous years.

We are fine. What is important is that American workers are finally beginning to trust the power of unions again. Those unions must be in place to protect those increased earnings and most of all continue to guard a safe workplace. Stockholders will always receive a dividend. It is just that the American economy is normalizing and those dividends are not the way of the past. American workers are the best work force in the world and there is every reason they receive the pay they are due and the increase in quality of life for themselves and their families.

Sure, Unions have had a bad reputation in the past. There was fertile ground for corruption. But, it is different today. American workers want their representatives at the bargaining table to be honest and forthright. The members of unions are not a bit afraid to hear the truth about any corruption within their bargaining process. There is an entire governing body at the federal level, the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) (click here) that can protect the members in their fiduciary relationship with their unions. Members can assert their interests if they find dishonest dealings. In the year 2022 American workers are smarter and more interested in the truth and honest dealings than ever before. 

The Fed has been doing the right thing in raising interest rates. The Fed has slowed the economy down enough to begin to see the end of the maddening costs of which were perpetrated by greed. The costs are slowly stabilizing and that means wages are worth more than if the cost of goods continued to rise.

The USA is not isolated from the rest of the world though. Issues of national security and the balance of trade is in play and that means changing paradigms. The USA and it's allies need to recover their economies that have been exported to more hostile countries. Additionally, the pandemic is still very real. One place Free People have not concentrated enough interest is the continent of Africa. Africa needs to be more stable and poverty ended. Building economies in Africa can replace the economies of hostile countries. There are over 1.2 billion people living in Africa and they all can become a new economy for American exports. Africa has problems and they are huge problems in places like Somalia, but, if the USA and it's allies don't take an interest in that continent there will always be a Somalia rather than emerging economies. 

The paradigms are changing in the world and they are changing for the better. It will be a time of concern and by no means can anyone think their lives are settled. We have a planet to recover from a deadly cycle of heating and a world that is still not safe from terrible weapons of mass destruction.

The American people are doing fine. They need to move forward with their agenda of change and solidify their own well being and not back on Wall Street 401ks that are used far too much as political propaganda. The 401ks are good for one thing and one thing only and that is the percentage the employer is providing and protecting it from being dissolved again because someone no one really knows says investing in risky products bring greater income. That is a lot of nonsense. The hard earned money invested in a 401k along with the employer's contribution should not be lost because of speculation.

Well. Enough for now. Let's enjoy a special time of year no matter the religious faith one practices or simply because it is a lot of fun being an American this time of year.

Paris killings

 Where did the gun come from?