Hind sight is always 20/20.

Former Secretary Clinton has no worries over her reset with Russia. It was done genuinely and with hopes for a better outcome.

No one. I do mean no one, ever expected Russia to violate a long held treaty that protected it, Europe and the USA. Additionally, the treaty created the neutrality Ukraine wanted. The invasion took everyone by surprise and it has been disastrous. Nothing good has come out of the invasion either. Peace is elusive at best.

19 January 2015

Dozens of people (click here) have been killed or wounded as fighting escalates along the front line in eastern Ukraine and the battle for Donetsk airport continues.

Artillery fire was reported in several areas of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions and a hospital in Donetsk city was hit, reports said.
Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels both said they controlled the airport.
As Russia warned Ukraine not to make a strategic mistake, Kiev said more Russian troops had crossed the border.
Russia has repeatedly denied claims that its regular forces are in eastern Ukraine, but has admitted that a number of "volunteers" are fighting alongside the rebels.
The surge of violence began last week as the fight for control of the airport intensified. Government forces fought back after rebels said they had finally seized the new terminal building having besieged government forces for months....

Never did any country believe Ukraine would be facing this after it's nuclear capacity was surrendered.

The Minsk Agreement isn't worth the paper it is written on because the Russian Federation has not been able to provide reassurances to the deescalation of hostilities by the rebels at Ukraine border.

As a result of consideration and discussion (click here) of the proposals from members of consultations in Minsk on Sept. 1. 2014, the Trilateral contact group composed of representatives from Ukraine, Russian Federation and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, an understanding was reached regarding the need to take the following steps:

1. Provide for immediate and two-sided ceasefire.
2. Provide monitoring and verification from the side of OSCE of the ceasefire.
3. Conduct decentralization of power, including through approval of the Law of Ukraine “On temporary order of local self-government in certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions” (Law on special status)
4. Provide permanent monitoring at the Ukrainian-Russian state border, and verification by OSCE, with creation of a safety zone in the areas adjacent to the border in Ukraine and Russian Federation.

There should be a demilitarized zone and there isn't.

5. Immediately free all hostages and illegally held persons.
6. Approve a law to prevent persecution and punishment of persons in relation to events that took place in certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine.
7. Continue an inclusive national dialogue.
8. Take measures to improve the humanitarian situation in Donbas.
9. Conduct early local elections in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On temporary order of local self-government in certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions” (Law on special status).
10. Remove illegal military formations, military equipment and militants and mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine.
11. Approve a program for economic development of Donbas and renew the vital functions of the region.
12. Give guarantees of personal security for participants of consultations.

Members of the Trilateral contact group:

If the very basics of stability can't be obtained, how can the remainder of the agreement take place?

Americans should never be asked to drink water after any and all spills, regardless of the chemical.

The only place Americans should be playing roulette is at a gambling establishment. On January 20, 2001 President Bush signed an Executive Order raising the limits on arsenic in drinking water. Ever since that day Americans sought local authority to insure their well being in having safe drinking water. But, with that order Americans began to wonder if any regulations served them or are they over doing it.

January 19, 2015
By Matthew Brown
GLENDIVE, Mont. — Officials said Monday (click here) that they were bringing truckloads of drinking water to the eastern Montana city of Glendive after traces of 50,000 gallons of oil that spilled into the Yellowstone River were found in the city's water supply.
State and federal officials said preliminary tests Monday indicated that at least some oil entered the supply for the city of 5,300 people. They stressed they are shipping drinking water as a precaution and do not know yet whether there is any public health threat to residents. They will perform further tests to determine that....

Water is H20. Not H20 with additives. Distilled water is fairly bland when drinking only water. To improve the taste of water there are sometimes minerals allowed to exist in the water and/or added to it and then it might be called Spring Water, etc. 

Oil has a lot chemicals in it. It isn't simply oil. It is also benzene, chromium, iron, mercury, nickel, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, toluene, and xylene. At no point in time after there is an oil spill anywhere near a water source for at the very least human beings should it be tolerated. The demand is simple, give communities safe drinking water as soon as the spill is found and send the oil company with the poor attention to safety the bill.

The Reborm Mitt Romney.

Questions:

1. Promote a higher minimum wage

2. Promote unions with the obvious relationship with growing the Middle Class

3. Moratorium on pension monies as part of a corporate take over  

4. Identify the causes for poverty in the USA, realizing 2009 US Poverty Rate Highest Since 1994, 43.6 Million Americans Living Below Poverty Line (click here)

5. Realizing the Republican fundamentals for economic policy actually caused the rise in poverty and fall in wages following the 2008 Global Economic Collapse, where is the PROOF cutting taxes on the wealthy benefits the 47 percent to improve their quality of life? 

6. What are the Romney policies to stem the continued accumulation of wealth by one percent of people IN THE WORLD?

...But the billionaires (click here) who saw the greatest increase in wealth were those with “interests and activities” in the pharmaceutical and health care sectors. They’re not the household names their elite cousins in finance are, but with a 47 percent collective wealth increase between 2013 and 2014, and health care at the center of America’s political debate, they’ve had significant clout.The pharmaceutical and health care sectors spent more on lobbying in 2013 than any other sector in the U.S., dishing out more than $487 million. Their influence has been felt in Europe, too, where these sectors spend an estimated $50 million each year....

7. Post secondary school is necessary in order to find better employment to facilitate a realistic ambition to have the American Dream. President Obama is seeing a free Community College/Junior College as a potential to that end. He is asking two free years for people to complete an Associate Degree. In the case of computer and health care focus there are some sincerely career jobs that can be found with Associate Degrees. The program is very realistic and long over due. What is the program Mr. Romney sees lifting all boats in the shortest period of time.

8. What reassurances does Mr. Romney purport to have to labor in the USA that trade aspirations of the Republicans will not outsource American jobs of cause a decline in wages? 

9. What benefits does Mr. Romney see as necessary in any labor package upon hiring, including, time off for pregnancy, birth, adoption and early parenting for both parents; vacation time; sick days; holidays and if an employee is required to work more than 40 hours per week; one and a half times their salary will be paid for those hours. Yes, benefits in addition to minimum wage even for the janitors.

I think that is a good start for Mr. Romney to begin to heal the wounds of campaigns past.

An Argentine prosecutor is dead. Israel should consider offering intelligence and personnel to Argentina to facilitate the future investigation.

January 19, 2015

Israel expressed “deep sorrow” (click here) Monday at the death of the Argentinian special prosecutor investigating the 1994 terrorist attack on the AMIA Jewish Center in Buenos Aires, saying it hoped Argentina would continue Alberto Nisman's work and bring the perpetrators of that attack to justice.

Eighty-five people were killed in that bombing that was linked to Hezbollah and Iran....

The Argentines have been incredible in their dedication to more their country forward, they should not suffer deaths in their country while trying to do the right thing. This is a good example of how a transitioning country wants to be a member of the international community in a meaningful way. When investigations are important offering help should be a topic at any summit.

Israel should not interfere in the investigation, but insuring it goes forward is a reasonable place of their support and expertise. Israeli intelligence services are incredible, both in dedication, training and development of tools and measures to protect the country.  

Amazing. The NSA attempts to spy on the North Korean nuclear program and leaves a trail a mile wide for hackers to follow.

So, let me get this right. The NSA is vital to the USA because it carries out spying that never ends the danger to the USA or it's allies, right? The FBI didn't stop the attack, did it? What good is the program if it does nothing but inflame international theaters where trust is required to end such programs as North Korea's nuclear program?

Here again, Americans get facts AFTER a successful attack and not before. The programs of the NSA should never be in the spot light. It should be so covert and so successful attacks don't happen and there is not a ripple of evidence the USA has controlled yet again an attack on the USA or allies infrastructure.

January 19, 2015
When the FBI said definitively (click here) last month that North Korea was "responsible" for the hack of Sony Pictures, there were those who doubted the veracity of the report.
How could North Korea, a country not exactly known for being a high-tech hub, pull off such a complex hack? And how did the U.S. conclude so quickly that the secretive nation was behind the attack?
As it turns out, the U.S. had some inside information. According to reports from Der Spiegel and The New York Times, the U.S. knew that North Korea hacked Sony because the U.S. had hacked North Korea.
The National Security Agency (NSA), in fact, has had access to North Korean networks and computers since 2010, the Times said. Officials wanted to keep tabs on the country's nuclear program, its high-ranking officials, and any plans to attack South Korea, according to a document published by Der Spiege....

The NSA stopped nothing!

If the intelligence programs of the USA don't prevent attacks of ANY KIND they are useless. 

Excuse me? The wealthiest are the job creators and can't afford additional taxes? Really?

January 19, 2015

As global movers and shakers (click here) head to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Oxfam is warning that an increasing wealth disparity is “leaving ordinary people voiceless and their interests uncared for.”

The collective wealth of the world’s richest 1 percent will exceed that of the other 99 percent of the global population next year, unless steps are taken to address the inequality, Oxfam warned ahead of the annual Davos meeting.

Oxfam, (click here) an anti-poverty charity, released a report titled, “Wealth: Having It All and Wanting More,” which reveals that the richest 1 percent, who had an average wealth of $2.7 million per adult in 2014, have seen their share of global wealth soar yet further, increasing from 44 percent in 2009 to 48 percent in 2014.

Winnnie Byanyima in photo on the right. Her husband, Warren Kizza Besigye Kifefe, commonly known as Kizza Besigye, is a Ugandan physician, politician and former military officer. Her spouse has attempted election to the presidency of Uganda but has yet to lead a successful campaign.

The combined wealth (click here) of the richest 1 percent will overtake that of the other 99 percent of people next year unless the current trend of rising inequality is checked, Oxfam warned today ahead of the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.

The international agency, whose executive director Winnie Byanyima will co-chair the Davos event, warned that the explosion in inequality is holding back the fight against global poverty at a time when 1 in 9 people do not have enough to eat and more than a billion people still live on less than $1.25-a-day....

While you weren't look the USA Army decided they could make a case to stay. Who is paying the bills?

Really? Well, I guess the US military has extended the generational war this far, if it can make it to November 2016 there actually might be a forever war, right?

Here is a definition to war in defense of USA the military needs to incorporate into their manual.

"If a war takes 14 years without resulting in the safety of the people of the USA, then the war failed.' Completely failed. 

I tell you what, if the USA military left Afghanistan today, the country would never have to worry about Osama bin Laden again. That is a fact. 

War becomes a failure when it drains a country of it's treasury so it can't afford war anymore. Take that to the Joint Chiefs planning table when they sign on for complete failures in spending like the F-35. The F-35 makes the USA military weaker and not stronger. Use that understanding to spending. It would be a good beginning in recapturing a military that works. When a military spending program costs more than a year of USA budgetary spending, it is draconian and should never exist. END THE DRONE DEVELOPMENT, too! I don't want Dick Cheney to have a military he can control from his war bunker.

January 19, 2015
By Michelle Tan

As the Afghan National Security Forces (click here) prepare for another tough fighting season, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said he could still recommend extending the mission and keeping more U.S. troops in country.

"I'm taking a look and assessing every day based on the enemy situation, based on how much we're getting done with the Afghans, how they're progressing on their lines of effort, how the [Train, Advise and Assist mission] is going, how the government's coming along, [and] if we can really get after the objectives that we set," said Gen. John Campbell, commander of the Resolute Support mission, during an interview Jan. 15 with Army Times.

There are about 10,600 U.S. troops in Afghanistan today; plans call for that number to drop to 9,800 by May 1 and 5,500 by the end of the year. It's too early to say, Campbell said, if he'll ask for permission to keep more troops in theater....

Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed by a sniper. He set himself up to carry out that one single shot.

My uncle killed by sniper in WW2. (click here) We were taught snipers were cowards. Will shoot u in the back. Snipers aren't heroes. And invaders r worse.

And who needs this? Arizona. Men in opposition of the rent owed the American people were preparing to kill government employees. 

War and it's elements should never be celebrated. Memorial Day, Veteran's Day are solemn events. I realize the commercial aspect of 'a day off from work' can bring about a necessary day of relaxation, but, in all honesty to reflect on the brevity of these holidays is important.

The movies that cause focus on the elements of war can be a populous event. But, in all honesty, films like The American Sniper, The Hurt Locker and even the all popular and adrenalin pumping Top Gun glamorizes killing. 

War in defense of our country is important, but, it should not be glamorized. The USA military is also running into problems with the authors within it's ranks. There is a positive feedback loop whereby a person can use their experience to sell a book and hope for a movie contract. That is not a reason to become a USA soldier.

 

January 19, 2015
By Evin Horwitz

Martin Luther King Jr. Day (click here) had already been a holiday for nearly a decade when it was reconsecrated as a “Day of Service” in 1994.
Today, many treat the holiday as a “day on,” rather than a day off, an opportunity to commemorate Dr. King’s legacy through volunteerism. That’s how the White House now chooses to mark the day: last year the First Family and Vice President Joe Biden volunteered at DC soup kitchens....

...The third Monday of January was set aside in 1986 to commemorate King’s birthday and his contributions to American history.
Then in 1994, Representatives John Lewis and Harris Wofford — both veterans of the Civil Rights movement and former friends of Dr. King — introduced a bill to turn MLK day into a “day of action, not apathy.” It was a way, as Wofford put it, to “remember Martin the way he would have liked.”...

"Morning Papers"

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

"Good Night, Moon"

Waning Moon or New Moon

27.9 days old

2.8 percent lit

Hear the latest from Mars. The USA found the British rover, Beagle 2. I think that is what they call it. The Beagle was the ship Darwin sailed on when he made his discoveries in evolution. But, this Beagle 2 looks as though it is stuck in a valley from the satellite pictures.

And the best news yet from Mars is that we found Spock.
 

An ‘alien coffin’ (click here) might possibly be added to the long list of curious objects found on the surface of the Red Planet. Puzzled UFO enthusiasts now want NASA’s Curiosity rover to take a closer look.

It is a real adventure when listening to the Amerian press when one knows they are playing with life and don't even care if their ratings line up right.

This article will provide some insight to The State of the Union address. President Obama is correct. The country needs tax reform, but, there is no room to cut taxes. The Middle Class is the economy in the USA and needs a benevolent measure of taxes, not the primary taxpayer that compromises their children's future without the hope of an education. That is the reality of the current Middle Class. The focus on strengthening the Middle Class is not politics. They need better wages.

June 18, 2015
By Neil Irwin

Here are three facts (click here) that are a useful starting point for understanding the tax proposal that President Obama will pitch in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, about which the White House released details Saturday.

1. The proposal would increase the capital gains tax rate both by raising the rate and by making it harder for families to avoid the tax entirely by passing on assets in an inheritance.

2. A central organizing philosophy of the Republican Party over the last generation has been that keeping the capital gains tax and other taxes on investment as low as possible is a key to unlocking rapid economic growth.

3. The Republican Party will control both houses of Congress for the remainder of Mr. Obama’s presidency.

It takes no masterstroke of political prognostication to conclude that this proposal is very unlikely to make its way back to Mr. Obama’s desk. But in some ways, that fact makes the president’s game here that much more interesting....

I suppose Grover Norquist instead of Miss Piggy, should be giving the reply to the President's State of the Union address.

"What we've also already begun doing at our committee level is putting together opportunities to talk about a porfolio of funding sources. The fact of the matter is the gas tax and relying upon the gas tax is going to be a dwindling source of revenue"   

The value of the gas tax has been eaten away by inflation and by decreases in gasoline use caused by more fuel efficient and electric vehicles. Davis says successful efforts to pass a farm bill and a water resources development act last year have given lawmakers a road map on how to approach a deal on transportation. - See more at: http://wglt.org/wireready/news/2015/01/05527_davis_transportationWEB_083701.shtml#sthash.S90gZDr0.dpuf

The USA's reality is changing. It is significant. It's income from taxes in fuel such as gasoline or items such as cigarettes is becoming less and less with each passing year. 

..."What (click here) we have already begun doing at our committee level is putting together opportunities to talk about a portfolio of funding sources."...

I am worried about the power brokers in the USA. They are finding more and more devious methods to effect the outcomes of average citizens. They are causing hardship they should never have the power to cause. There is political overreach because of vast vault of monies within their reach. They can buy and sell their influence with ease.  

What really astounded me was the leverage there can be within our states to attempt to create an illusion of a wayward President. It is an illusion, nothing more. The Republicans have nothing else and they will stop at nothing to bring about suspicion of President Obama. It is not right and now there are approaches to power I have never seen before. The idea Hispanics are carrying such a burden in their lives because the Republicans are fearful for their power within the electorate.

I am concerned for the future of the USA because it's right wing politics have become so intractable. The rhetoric is a danger to the country. The dialogue is all wrong. The Paris attacks were not in the USA. It was an ally, not us. Europe is a very short distance from Syria. The Mediterranean Sea shares a border with Syria. Europe is far more susceptible to home grown terrorists than the USA. 

There is also the right wing propaganda wagon. Fareed Zakaria spent a good amount of his Sunday hour dispelling the lies of Hannity.

January 17, 2015
By Randy Krehbiel

Of all the things Americans (click here) are likely to die of, terrorism is pretty far down the list, CNN commentator Fareed Zakaria said Friday.
“The chances of an American dying from an international terrorist attack are lower than the chances you will drown in your bathtub,” Zakaria told a group of high school students prior to a Tulsa Town Hall lecture at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center.

“The number of people who die from terrorism in the United States this year is probably under 25,” he said. “The number who will die because of guns is 30,000. The number who will die because of fatalities on highways is 40,000.”

Zakaria’s point, also made during his Town Hall lecture, was that reactions to terrorism largely determine whether it continues....

This is an article that will challenge thinking. It is accurate for as much as it is, there are also other factors in spending that benefit the average citizen but it's as tangible as the teachers in the classroom or the traffic light at the dangerous corner. There are government employees and independent contractors that receive government spending which ultimately effect the average American. The National Parks are open because we spend money on the treasures of our country. That sort of thing.

 

"What we've also already begun doing at our committee level is putting together opportunities to talk about a porfolio of funding sources. The fact of the matter is the gas tax and relying upon the gas tax is going to be a dwindling source of revenue"

The value of the gas tax has been eaten away by inflation and by decreases in gasoline use caused by more fuel efficient and electric vehicles. Davis says successful efforts to pass a farm bill and a water resources development act last year have given lawmakers a road map on how to approach a deal on transportation. - See more at: http://wglt.org/wireready/news/2015/01/05527_davis_transportationWEB_083701.shtml#sthash.S90gZDr0.dpuf

...Governments (click here) at all levels throughout the United States impose taxes in order to finance spending programs intended to benefit their citizens. A common question posed about these fiscal policies is how their costs and benefits are distributed across different subgroups of the population, most notably by income group. In other words, how much do people pay in taxes versus how much do they receive in government spending?...

At least folks will have an idea of why the President is asking for the changes in the USA tax structure. 

One other thing. All this war mongering and idea the USA can simply send in the troops or what is the expression? Oh, yeah, can send in boots on the ground is completely nonsense. To begin we are still in Afghanistan.

January 19, 2015




The pilot who met Britney Spears (click here) at Alcoholics Anonymous and helped her recover from a very public breakdown has been killed by a Taliban missile in Afghanistan.
John Sundahl, 44, was working as a private pilot for visiting dignitaries in Afghanistan when a missile struck his helicopter near Kabul last week.
Sundahl met Spears in 2007 and the pair briefly dated. After splitting, they remained friends and reportedly rekindled their romance briefly last year....

There is also the sequestration. Preparedness is down. That can't be good. I think the military needs to be given freedom to restructure their priorities. The sequestration was arbitrary, but, the USA has to replace jets and not with F-35 Strike Fighters. They have to be replaced with reliable aircraft.

May 6, 2015
By Claudette Roulo, American Forces Press Service

...Airmen have performed spectacularly (click here) well over a period that included numerous routine deployments and contingency responses, Welsh said.

“I believe they've earned every penny they've made,” the general added. But per-capita costs for Airmen have grown more than 40 percent since 2000, he noted.

“Last year, our readiness levels reached an all-time low,” Welsh said. “As we struggle to recover, we don't have enough units ready to respond immediately to a major contingency, and we're not always able to provide fully mission-ready units to meet our combatant commanders' routine rotational requirements.”

The Air Force’s modernization forecasts also are bleak, the general said. About 20 percent of its aircraft flying today were built in the 1950s and 1960s, he noted, and more than half of the rest are 25 years old or older.

“And now, due to sequestration, we've cut about 50 percent of our currently planned modernization programs,” Welsh said.

The fiscal situation has forced the Air Force into some very difficult decisions, the general said, particularly in the area of pay and compensation reform....

So, the idea the USA military can simply set up a No Fly Zone in a moment's notice isn't exactly realistic. The USA military needs to look at what is important and what works and what is adequate to protect the USA plus room for error or better said, room for the unexpected.

I hope the President once again addresses the cost of college. It isn't as though most American students have stock dividends to rely on.

Ann Romney in 1994: (click here) When Mitt Romney was running for Senate in 1994, his wife gave a candid interview with Jack Thomas of The Boston Globe, published October 20, 1994. She told Thomas that after their Hawaii honeymoon, Mitt transferred to Brigham Young University. Back then, she still thought of that time as tough. But she wasn't as good at describing it, suggesting that it was rough living off stock options: 

"They were not easy years. You have to understand, I was raised in a lovely neighborhood, as was Mitt, and at BYU, we moved into a $62-a-month basement apartment with a cement floor and lived there two years as students with no income... Neither one of us had a job, because Mitt had enough of an investment from stock that we could sell off a little at a time."

And I have yet to hear the words Climate Crisis spoken by any Republican. The video to this article is brutal. The cars slid under a tractor trailer.

January 16, 2015
By John Bacon

A deadly "flash freeze" (click here) swept through much of the Northeast on Sunday, causing crashes that killed at least five people and forcing flight delays and closure of all bridges linking Philadelphia and New Jersey.
Parts of the Northwest suffered a similar fate: Twelve people were injured in a massive wreck involving more than a dozen tractor-trailers on icy Interstate 84 near Baker City, Ore.
But the most pervasive problems were in the East. In Connecticut, Hartford's Bradley International Airport closed temporarily due to ice on the runways. Morning flight delays averaged almost an hour at Philadelphia International Airport; John F. Kennedy International delays were almost 40 minutes.
A crash involving 30 to 50 vehicles on Interstate 76 outside Philadelphia killed one person, and two others died in a crash involving multiple vehicles on nearby Interstate 476, police said. In northeastern Pennsylvania, a man was killed after his car overturned on an icy road and he was thrown from it and hit by a commercial vehicle. In Connecticut, police cited slippery conditions in a crash that killed an 88-year-old woman who struck a utility pole in New Haven....

So, with all the problems facing the USA, both domestically and internationally, the political lies continue. The power playing is unbelievable. And this is the USA. It doesn't look like it to me anymore.

Oh, yeah. And I almost forgot, Europe has to worry about the war between Russia and Ukraine, too.  

"What we've also already begun doing at our committee level is putting together opportunities to talk about a porfolio of funding sources. The fact of the matter is the gas tax and relying upon the gas tax is going to be a dwindling source of revenue"

The value of the gas tax has been eaten away by inflation and by decreases in gasoline use caused by more fuel efficient and electric vehicles. Davis says successful efforts to pass a farm bill and a water resources development act last year have given lawmakers a road map on how to approach a deal on transportation. - See more at: http://wglt.org/wireready/news/2015/01/05527_davis_transportationWEB_083701.shtml#sthash.S90gZDr0.dpuf

There has been one judicial decision in regard to the most recent Executive Order regarding the Undocumented.

I am somewhat concerned about the etiology of the course of constitutional challenges to President Obama's authority. This is a Pennsylvania hearing regarding the President's Executive Order on Immigration. But, the basis for the judicial decision is from definitions submitted from a Texas proceeding.

Basically what is occurring is designer decisions manufactured in Texas. As a result other courts have to consider the evidence in other decisions as it is submitted during the proceedings.

It is rather amazing to have all this mess chronically appear to change the direction of power within the Executive Branch. This isn't the same as Prop 8 as it was passed by a voting majority. In this case the Texas legislature created concepts and words which made it's way through the judicial process to a higher court.

The political right wing is rigging the system though the Texas legislature. This level of hatred of the Undocumented can't go without notice. The Texas Republicans are going through rather extreme measures to defeat an Executive Order. This is more than hatred, it is manipulation of the power structure for reasons still unclear to me.

...II. Procedural Posture (click here)

A. How Defendant's Case Came to be before this court,

Defendant appears before this Court, in part because ofarguably unequal and arbitraryimmigration enforcement in the United States.

As noted above, a New Sewickley Township Police Officer arrested Defendant andHomeland Security was notified of his potential undocumented status following his arrest. TheCommonwealth of Pennsylvania is not a “sanctuary state.”  

There is very little “official”information concerning “sanctuary cities” or “sanctuary states.” In Veasey v. Perry, 13-CV- 00193, 2014 WL 5090258, *17, fn 149 (S.D. Tex. October 09, 2014), a Federal Judge for theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of Texas defined “sanctuary cities” as“cities that have refused to fund law enforcement efforts to look for immigration law violators,leaving that to the federal government. S.J. of Tex., 82nd Leg., R.S. 8 (2011) (designating theelimination of sanctuary cities as a legislative emergency).

Had Defendant been arrested in a “sanctuary state” or a “sanctuary city,” local law enforcement likely would not have reported him to Homeland Security. If Defendant had notbeen reported to Homeland Security, he would likely not have been indicted for one count of re-entry of a removed alien in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. 

Further, neither a federal indictment nor deportation proceedings were inevitable, evenafter Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), a division of Homeland Security, becameinvolved. In 2013, ICE personnel declined to bring charges against thousands of undocumentedimmigrants who had previous criminal convictions. 

Therefore, Defendant possibly would not be facing sentencing and/or deportation if hehad been arrested under the same circumstances, but in another city/state or if different ICEpersonnel had reviewed his case....

And then there is this bullshit.

November 21, 2015
By John Boehner

(CNN) -- Every member of Congress (click here) swore an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. So did President Barack Obama....

All that and more while in the USA there is still this disaster of a political rant.

According to (click here) the Constitution of the United States of America, Article 2, Section 1, "No Person except a "Natural Born Citizen", or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the signing of this Constitution, shall be eligible to hold the Office of President."
Whereas, The Second Session of the First Continental Congress, back in March of 1790, defined "Natural Born Citizen" to mean a child born of two parents who must both be American Citizens”;and
Whereas, The wording of the definition of “Natural Born Citizen” as established by our First Continental Congress in 1790 states:
"And the children of "citizens" of the United States, that may be born beyond sea, or out of the limits of the United States shall be considered as natural born citizens; Provided, that the
right of citizenship shall not descend to persons whose fathers have never been resident in the United States."
Whereas, Our Constitution is the supreme law of the land and the written will and authority of We the People; and
Whereas, We the People contend that Barack H. Obama, AKA Barry Soetoro, has failed to meet the requirement necessary to hold the office of President of the United States of America; and...

I suppose abuses by the Nigerian military is still the least of worst considering the deaths by Boka Harem.

January 18, 2015

By Kathleen Caulderwood

Boko Haram members (click here) have killed thousands of people, kidnapped hundreds of children and claimed responsibility for increasingly violent attacks around northern Nigeria for more than five years. Hundreds died during the Islamist militant group’s latest and deadliest massacre in the city of Baga.

A week later, one reporter asked the White House an obvious question at a briefing, “Why haven’t we seen U.S. intervention in Nigeria?”

The U.S. has employed military intervention to stop brutal campaigns before, and recently announced plans to send 1,000 soldiers and personnel to help Syrian rebels fight the Islamic State group, another terrorist organization known for widespread brutality, as the New York Times reported. But Nigeria presents a difficult case.

Although Boko Haram is an obvious problem, a U.S. decision to work with a government associated with corruption and possible war crimes presents a dilemma. But experts say there are ways to intervene without a military presence. It will just take time....

...Although Boko Haram’s abuses are horrific, Nigerian security forces aren’t blameless themselves. 

Amnesty International recently documented large-scale human-rights abuses by the Nigerian military and police forces in a report titled “Welcome to Hell Fire.” These abuses included torture, enforced disappearances and the deaths of people in custody. But even more troubling for Amnesty researchers was the impunity with which Nigerian forces operate.

“Security officials are rarely held accountable are rarely held accountable for failures to follow due process or for perpetrating human-rights violations such as torture,” Amnesty International said in the report. “The absence of acknowledgement and public condemnation of such violations by senior government officials further assists in creating a climate for impunity and raises serious concern about the political will to end such human rights violations."

Earnest pointed to this problem at his press briefing. “We’re going to keep the pressure on the security forces to do a better job of protecting their population from the violent extremists, while at the same time those security forces do a better job of respecting basic human rights,” he said.'''...

To align with the Nigerian military is to realize most of the country opposes them because of their atrocities in killing villagers to benefit the petroleum industry. There are vast legal monetary settlements from the petroleum industry that was suppose to benefit the villagers. The money disappeared. The small circle in control at the capital city made use of it without doing anything to benefit the people. 

How does the USA make a choice in where to begin with this mess? First Lady Michelle Obama attempted to unite the country behind the President to find the will to oppose this scourge of insurgents. It has yet to work while the sentiment is strong because of the upcoming elections. If the Nigerian people would unite and find the will to act against this insurgency the place for USA aid and training for soldiers would be clear, but, there is no structure that is remotely decisive.

Nigeria's future is even worse than that of Syria's. Syria has a coalition of countries willing to act to contain the violence while soldiers to fight on behalf of the people of Syria are being trained. None of that is remotely possible in Nigeria because of it's violent history among the people. 

There must be a reason why Boka Harem is sequested in northern Nigeria.

The militants aren't expanding into Nigeria or Cameroon. They occupy the northern region of Nigeria with raids for hostages into Cameroon. They return to Nigeria after the raid.

January 18, 2015

...A security source (click here) told the BBC that it was the villages of Maki and Mada in the Tourou district near Mokolo city in Cameroon's Far North region, about 6km (four miles) from the Nigerian border, that came under attack.

The suspected militants arrived in the early hours of Sunday morning when it was still dark and left in the direction of Nigeria with scores of hostages.
Cameroon's Information Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary confirmed the attacks saying between 30 and 50 people were taken in the raids - although he said an exact number was difficult to establish as investigations were ongoing.
"They burnt to ashes almost 80 houses," he said.
A police officer told the AFP news agency put the figure of hostages at around 60, saying "most were women and children".
Officials told Reuters that as many as 80 people had been kidnapped. Those abducted included about 30 adults and 50 children between the ages of 10 and 15, an army officer deployed to northern Cameroon told the agency.
Cameroon has criticised Nigeria for failing to do more to confront Boko Haram....

Meet General Buhari. This dialogue was after the June 2014 attacks by the insurgents known as Boka Harem.

Basically, Buhari called for Jonathan's impeachment along with a few governors. I am sure there were many that agreed with him, but, this is the state of play in Nigeria. Rather than the country coming together over the tragedy of the kidnappings, it divides along political lines that are mostly opportunistic. 

July 22, 2014

By Bayo Oladeji, By George Agba, By GEORGE OKOJIE, By Midat Joseph

A leader (click here) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), has raised the alarm over what he described as the deployment of federal might and the country’s resources by President Goodluck Jonathan in his bid to fuel partisanship, subvert the system and punish the opposition.
The impeachment of governors of opposition states, just to decapitate the opposition, he said, does not augur well for the survival of a fragile nation like Nigeria or the survival of its tenderfoot democracy. It is indicative of the fact that the president has declared war on his own country, Buhari noted.
But in a swift reaction, Jonathan told Buhari that his statement was a descent from the elder statesman he had once commended him to, saying that rather than blame him for the woes his party, the APC had inflicted on itself, Buhari and his party should work harder in putting their house in order and resolve the leadership crisis therein.
Jonathan said, “It is most unfortunate that instead of working to put their house in order and resolve the leadership crises and internal contradictions that have plunged their party into a downward spiral, General Buhari and his opposition allies have resorted to blaming a blameless President for their woes”....

These countries have sincere problems in maintaining their sovereignty. There are insurgencies all over Africa. That is why the United Nations has called for the Small Arms Treaty. If the supply of weapons fades the opportunity to become an insurgency will be dim and people will be forced to work with each other or fight with sticks and stones.

This kidnapping by Boka Harem was the not first time. They successfully kidnapped 500 men, women and children in 2009. Basically, when they run out of people after they execute them for whatever reason they do, they kidnap more. 

These are the methodologies of the insurgent groups in Africa. Now, Boka Harem and the Islamic State believe they have much in common. Their methods are the same and neither have proven to be beneficial to any people or successful at establishing a sovereign state that is peaceful and capable of trade. They steal all they have. They are international criminals and the only product they export is terrorism.