Tuesday, March 31, 2015

PLAYING GOLF WHILE THE PLANET DRYS UP; CRAZY!

How crazy is this? Much like Nero fiddling while Rome was engulfed in flames we continue to drain the planet of a much needed resource (water) just to be able to chase little white balls up and down acres and acres of green grass that suck up billions of gallons of water. Even the President seems to be oblivious to the problem Obama Plays Water Guzzling Desert Golf Courses Amid California Drought




Amount of water it would take, per day, to support 4.7 billion people at the UN daily minimum
2.5 billion gallons

Amount of water used, per day, to irrigate the world’s golf courses
2.5 billion gallons



According to the Environmental Protection Agency, “The average American family of four uses 400 gallons of water per day.” The average golf course uses 312,000 gallons of water, according to Audobon International, meaning each one uses as much water as 780 families of four. In Palm Springs—immediately adjacent to a place called PalmDesert—NPR reported that each of the city's 57 courses use about a million gallons a day, or about the same as 2,500 families of four.

Looking statewide, the numbers really get fun. California is second only to Florida in the number of golf courses it has: 921. Together, those courses use as much water as 2.8 million people, or about 7 percent of the state's population. While middle-class homeowners risk fines for watering their lawns, millions upon millions of gallons of water are wasted every day on a boring leisure sport for the wealthy.

“Golf courses are a huge problem,” said Adam Keats of the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental advocacy group. And part of that huge problem is the people who play it. “They're a wealthy elite that have no connection to want or lack,” Keats, head of the center's California Water Law Project, told me over the phone. “Golfers live in a world of excess.”

Sunday, March 29, 2015

FLORIDA-SPRING-PARTIES-GUNS-DRUGS-ALCOHOL = RECIPE FOR DISASTER

If you plan to partee in Florida, the "stand your ground" state that is a haven for the NRA don't expect nothing less than a full blown, all out, shit-fest. Here's how the town's sheriff describes it;

 He called it a “recipe for disaster.”

“We have drunk people under the influence of drugs, on our beaches, with guns and no respect for themselves, others and most of all authority,” McKeithen said.


Local authorities including Florida Highway Patrol have made more than 700 arrests along the long stretch of the panhandle's beaches during this year’s out-of-control spring break festivities.

McKeithen says 130 of the arrests were drug-related.

“This will not end well. We will then be subjected to a separate issue that none of us want or need,” McKeithen added, fearing violence against his officers.

The shooting followed a Thursday hearing where angry neighbors asked the city to put a ban on drinking along the beach, where spring break visitors typically congregate in March
, according to the News Herald.



Friday, March 27, 2015

FRANCIS; A ROLE MODEL FOR THE 1%

Just in case the "haves" are confused about how to help those that "have not" Pope Francis  is offering a few suggestions.




First Pope Francis gave the homeless in and around St. Peter’s Square sleeping bags to mark his birthday last December. Then the Vatican built showers and got barbers and hairdressers to give them free haircuts and shaves. And now it’s planning to throw open the doors of its museums and the Sistine Chapel to them.

The initiative comes from Polish Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, the man appointed by Pope Francis as his personal representative in aiding the poor.

This week, Krajewski announced that on Thursday, a group of 150 homeless men and women will get a guided visit of the museums and take part in a private prayer in the Sistine Chapel, followed by a free dinner at the museum’s restaurant.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

KAMAKAZI REDUX

Planes falling out of the sky; in this case verify-ably deliberate, is begining to occur more often than not these days. Add to this several unexplained crashes and you have to ask. Are passenger planes being used as weapons?







The co-pilot of the Germanwings flight that crashed in the French Alps, named as Andreas Lubitz, appeared to want to "destroy the plane", officials said.

Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin, citing information from the "black box" voice recorder, said the co-pilot was alone in the cockpit.

He intentionally started a descent while the pilot was locked out.

Mr Robin said there was "absolute silence in the cockpit" as the pilot fought to re-enter it.

He said air traffic controllers made repeated attempts to contact the aircraft, but to no avail. Passengers could be heard screaming just before the crash, he added.

Details are emerging of the German co-pilot's past - although his apparent motives for causing the crash remain a mystery



Wednesday, March 25, 2015

THE FRAT BRAT DEFENSE; NOT A RACIST; JUST RACIST WORDS.

It's becoming the defense of choice for people who get caught doing/saying bad things.



Pettit, who actually took a few questions from the gathered media following his statement, would not discuss the events leading up to the bus ride. He would not discuss the chant or say where he learned it or who taught it to him.




"There are no excuses for my behavior. I never thought of myself as a racist. I never considered it a possibility. But the bottom line is that the words I said in the chant were mean, hateful and racist."

Monday, March 23, 2015

CAMPING OUT AT WALMART

Arizona Walmart Shooting: Police Shoot One Dead In 17-Person Walmart Fight At A Cottonwood Parking Lot [Video]



When police officers arrived, the Walmart brawl spilled out onto the parking lot, and one suspect was shot and killed during the large 17-person fight. Witnesses say they heard screaming and saw people running around while firing guns. Another suspect was shot in the abdomen while the Walmart employee sustained a broken arm.

“We do believe that there was a struggle for an officer’s weapon, there is an ongoing investigation on that,” said DPS spokesman Bart Graves, according to AZ Central. “This is a very complex investigation, we are still sorting things out and there are a lot of witnesses to talk to, so we are in the early stages. We were asked by Cottonwood police to conduct a criminal investigation.”

During the Walmart fight, one police officer was shot in the leg and was flown to Flagstaff Medical Center for surgery. The Walmart shooting victim is 31-years-old and has been with the Cottonwood
Police Department for 10 years. The veteran police officer is expected to make a full recovery.

A total of seven people were taken into custody. The condition of the suspect shot in the stomach is currently unknown. The Walmart shooting suspects have refused to release their real names to authorities, but it is believed the five adult males, a woman, and a female juvenile are all part of the same family.

Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/1947832/arizona-walmart-shooting-police-shoot-one-dead-in-17-person-walmart-fight-at-a-cottonwood-parking-lot-video/#8EqkQcrzuAlmOOdI.99

Sunday, March 22, 2015

RACISTS LYNCH STARBUCKS

Starbucks made a fatal mistake when it started a campaign to "talk about" racism in America. It was based on the assumption that; as SCOTUS recently declared, racism does not exist in America.



WRONG!



It's sparkling clear that the last thing Americans want to admit is that racism is alive and well in America. S, what's there to talk about?




Starbucks baristas will no longer write “Race Together” on customers' cups, ending a visible component of the company's diversity and racial inequality campaign that sparked widespread criticism in the week since it took effect.

The campaign didn't sit well with some Starbucks customers. Many voiced on social media and elsewhere that they didn't want a debate with their brew.

At a Starbucks in Pittsfield Township, Mich., near Ann Arbor, two customers said Sunday they didn't think a coffee shop was the right place for race relations dialogue.

Ninette Musili, a junior bio-molecular science major at the University of Michigan, said the campaign seemed to her like an insincere publicity stunt that wasn't executed properly.

Like many who criticized Starbucks, she goes to the shops either before class or later in the day to study. At neither time does she want to discuss race relations.

“Most people come to Starbucks for coffee,” said Musili, who is 19 and black. “Race is an uncomfortable thing to bring up, especially in a Starbucks.”

She said such discussions are important, and that Starbucks should have set aside time during the evenings for race discussions and invited people to attend.

Another customer, Shane Mulholland, 46, of Ann Arbor, also said Starbucks isn't the venue to talk about race.

“They're here for coffee. They're not here to push their political agenda,” he said. “I even contemplated not coming here because of it.”

He said Starbucks should remain neutral on such topics because it's an established brand, rather than risk alienating customers. “There are other ways you can go about doing things to stimulate interest in what you're doing,” said Mulholland, who is white and runs an edible mushroom-growing business. “They must be doing so well they don't have to worry about losing customers over that,” he said.

The campaign, he said, didn't start any discussions about race with him.

Discussions about race are necessary, but getting a message about it on a coffee cup is silly, Stephanie Nelson, 45, said at a Starbucks in Seattle, the chain's home.

Friday, March 20, 2015

WHEN FRANCIS SPEAKS THE 1% CRINGE

The Pope doesn't hold any punches and when it comes to income inequality and climate change he comes out swinging. As a result there are a lot of folks out there who just wish he would go away, already!



Looking at the Pope's schedule that's not going to happen any time soon.




It’s a mistake to take too much notice of what the pope says. And funnily enough, he’d be the first to say so. By which I don’t mean that it won’t be worth listening when he makes the speech, announced this week, to the United Nations general assembly in September. Pope Francis is due to publish the Catholic church’s first encyclical on the environment in a couple of months, and he’ll draw on that to argue in New York for greater international commitments to curb greenhouse gases. He’ll probably call for the rich to do much more to help poor people around the world already blasted by the effects of climate change.

And the day before it will be well worth watching the seat-squirming that will take place when he becomes the first pope ever to address both Houses of Congress in Washington. Expect uncompromising denunciation of the idolatrous ideology of the free market which keeps the young jobless and dispenses with the old.

It’s the stuff in between you should treat with more scepticism. Take the interview he gave the other day to mark the second anniversary of his election. He had a feeling, he told Mexican television, that his pontificate would be brief, just two or three years more. Maybe he would resign, as his predecessor had. But the interview was full of other bar-room ramblings, about how he “didn’t mind” being pope. (He loves it). Or how he misses the anonymity of strolling into a pizzeria for a pizza. (They deliver.) Or his reaction to the criticism that he talks too much and too spontaneously: “I’ve always spoken that way. Always. For some it’s a defect, I don’t know. But I think the people understand me.” (They do indeed, even if they could not quite articulate his message and repeat it back to him.) [More]

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

STARBUCKS PUSHES THE RACE BUTTON

Racism in America is alive and well hidden and Starbucks well intended efforts to bring it out into the open isn't likely to get much traction.




Starbucks' campaign to get people talking about race has already birthed a very public, very cringeworthy conversation about race. Jay Smooth, a radio DJ and video blogger, was on MSNBC's All In With Chris HayesTuesday night, discussing the coffee company's "Race Together" campaign with fellow guest Nancy Giles, a contributor to CBS Sunday Morning.

As they discussed the efficacy of a campaign like Race Together — with Giles defending it and Smooth pushing back — Hayes played one of Smooth's most popular videos, "How To Tell Someone They Sound Racist."

"It's another interesting, funny thing about race," Giles said, after the clip ran. "There would be some people that feel that you co-opted something like that, and other people might feel like that's his background and that's really cool, too."

The NRA's GOOD GUY vs BAD GUY FIASCO

In their relentless campaign to promote gun sales the NRA likes to pump people up with boisterous one-liners like; "the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." 



That sells a lot of guns and ammo but creates a dilemma when trying to discern who are the good and bad guys. Don't expect the NRA to help sort it out




A father and daughter were fatally shot in Detroit Friday evening while trying to remove occupants from a home purchased in Wayne County's September tax foreclosure auction.

Stacy Pugh, president of the Rosedale Park Improvement Association, the neighborhood where the father and daughter were killed in a gunfight, says the process of evicting tenants of homes lost to tax foreclosure must be improved to ensure this doesn't happen again.

Pugh knew the family who lived in the home and lost it to back taxes. She said they lived in the home more than five years.

Although the family might have technically been trespassing, Pugh said it "wasn't like they were walking down the street and said, 'Hey, there's an empty house; let's move in.'"

"What I understand, the folks were moving out and the folks who purchased the home ... they wanted them out right away, and when you purchase a home you want to move in, but at the same time there is a proper way to do it ... " said Pugh. "My assessment of the issue is that there needs to be a better process in place in regards to how homes are sold through the auction and the process of actually evicting a resident if they are in the home."

MAKE WAR - NOT PEACE

Why is it that even though the US claims to be the world's peacekeeper it seems to always end up involved in somebody's war? 
Worldwide military expenditure shrunk in 2013 for the second consecutive year, falling by 1.9% to $1.75 trillion. The 100 largest arms-producers sold a combined $402 billion worth of arms and military services in 2013, also down — for the third consecutive year.

However, not all countries are spending less. Military spending in North America and in Western and Central European countries has continued to decline, while other countries such as Brazil and Russia have increased their arms investments.

Despite the global drop, weapons producers generated massive profits from arms sales, and U.S. and European companies continued to dominate the top 10 global companies in terms of arms deals. Lockheed Martin was the global leader with $36 billion in arms sales in 2013, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

These are the companies profiting the most from war.

 U.S. companies still dominate the arms market by a large margin, with six among the top 10 arms sellers. In the top 100 arms-producing companies, 39 are based in the United States, and U.S. companies accounted for more than 58% of total arms sales among the top 100. U.S. company arms sales in the top 10 alone made up 35% of total arms sales among the top 100. By contrast, Western European companies, which make up the rest of the top 10 arms producers, accounted for just 28% of the total top 100 arms sales.

National governments, especially the U.S., are almost always the primary customers of these companies. Governments are often the only customers that can afford the extremely high costs of these products. An F-35 fighter jet purchased in 2018 from Lockheed Martin and delivered in 2020, for example, would cost roughly $100 million.

While cuts in U.S. military expenditure have created some uncertainty for U.S. arms market players, business is still very good in the country. According to Perlo-Freeman, several companies based in Europe, such as BEA and Finmeccanica, operate subsidiary holdings in the U.S. to access the U.S. market.

 
 Companies Profiting the Most From War

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

REPUBLICANS LOSE ANOTHER MASCOT


Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock resigned Tuesday, less than 12 hours after POLITICO raised questions about tens of thousands of dollars in mileage reimbursements he received for his personal vehicle.

Schock billed the federal government and his campaign for logging roughly 170,000 miles on his personal car from January 2010 through July 2014. But when he sold that Chevrolet Tahoe in July 2014, it had roughly 80,000 miles on the odometer, according to public records obtained by POLITICO under Illinois open records laws. The documents, in other words, indicate he was reimbursed for 90,000 miles more than his car was driven.

The discrepancy added to a growing wave of ethical and legal problems for the 33-year-old politician.

COMMON SENSE TACKLES THE NFL

It's refreshing to see that there are some athletes who are willing to go against the tide and confront the dangers players are subjected to for no other reason that making money.

Now that celebrity players  are putting their health ahead of their wallets it might wake up others who are unwittingly being exploited by those who profit from this "brain scrambling" national addiction.

More important is that parents get the message that throwing their kids on football fields is nothing short of abuse.


It is an off-season like no other in the National Football League. Young players, with many games and millions of dollars potentially ahead of them, are walking away from the country’s most popular sport.

Linebacker Chris Borland of the San Francisco 49ers, one of the top rookies in the N.F.L. last season, is the latest case, and perhaps the most noteworthy. He said Monday that he was retiring because of concerns about his safety, and his decision may have ripple effects well beyond the professional ranks.

“Somebody said we’re at the beginning of the beginning, and that might be true,” Jeff Borland, Chris’s father, said Tuesday in a telephone interview regarding whether his son’s decision would influence parents of young football players.

During the preseason last year, Chris Borland sent a letter to his parents in Ohio. He thanked them for their support and said he was embarking on what was likely to be his final season playing football.

“We readily accepted it,” Jeff Borland said. “It was a relief that after one more season, he would no longer be taking the physical abuse. He kept his unpublished word that he gave the team everything he had. I was very proud of that.”

Borland’s decision, which was first reported by ESPN, came just days after Patrick Willis, 30, a seven-time All-Pro linebacker also with the 49ers, announced that he would retire rather than risk further injury.

At least three other prominent players have followed suit.


Monday, March 16, 2015

NARCISSISM;BLAME THE PARENTS


Parents who believe their kids are better, more special, and deserve more than other kids can pass that point of view on to their children, creating young narcissists who feel superior to others, and entitled to privileges, according to a new study.

"Loving your child is healthy and good, but thinking your child is better than other children can lead to narcissism, and there is nothing healthy about narcissism," said Brad Bushman, a professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University.
Bushman is the coauthor of a new paper that found a direct correlation between parents who overvalue their children and children who are narcissistic.

The study, published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to look at the origins of narcissism.

"People are not just born narcissists and there is nothing you can do about it," Bushman said. "Our research shows that the way parents treat their children can predict how narcissistic their kids are."

To be clear, narcissism is not a disorder that people do or do not have. Rather, it is a spectrum on which adults and kids from the general population gradually differ from one another, explained Eddie Brummelman, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Amsterdam and the main author of the study.

"Most children score around the midpoint of the narcissism continuum, with some scoring very low, and some children scoring very high," he said. "In its extreme form, narcissism can sometimes develop into Narcissistic Personality Disorder in adulthood."

For the study, the researchers conducted interviews with 565 children ages 7-12 and their parents every six months over an 18-month period.

Bushman said they chose that age range because the first signs of narcissistic tendencies begin to emerge around age 8.

"Before that every kid is a narcissist," he said. "If you go into a classroom of 5-year-olds and ask who here is good at math they will all raise their hand. It isn't until about age 8 that they start to compare themselves with others."

Every six months of the study period the children were asked to rate their response to 10 items on the Childhood Narcissism Scale from 0-3, with 0 being "not at all true" and 3 being "completely true."


The statements included, "Kids like me deserve something extra," and "I am a great example for other kids to follow."

It also included the sinister question, "I am very good at making other people believe what I want them to believe."

For the parents, the researchers used the parental overvaluation scale, which includes statements like "My child deserves special treatment," and "I would find it disappointing if my child was just a 'regular' child."

The researchers also had the kids take a self-esteem test, and the parents were asked to take a parental warmth test.

The researchers found that the more parents overvalued their kids, the more narcissistic the kids' responses became six months later.

They also found that parental warmth was associated with high self-esteem in kids, but that parental over evaluation was not associated with high self-esteem.

"When children are seen by their parents as being more special and more entitled than other children, they may internalize the view that they are superior individuals, a view that is at the core of narcissism," the researchers conclude in the paper.

They add: "When children are treated by their parents with affection and appreciation, they may internalize the view that they are valuable individuals, a view that is at the core of self-esteem."

So, according to the research, loving your kid and thinking he or she is awesome is a good thing, but thinking your kid is more awesome than other kids can lead to trouble down the road, Brummelman said.


Keith Campbell, a professor of psychology at the University of Georgia who was not involved in the study, praised the research.

"I think that looking at the age group is really interesting," he said. "These findings are consistent with theory and other research on narcissism and parenting, so I think there is good evidence that parenting can cause narcissism."

However, he added that there is also good evidence that genetic factors play an important role in the development of narcissism as well.

The researchers agree.

"It probably does have to do with genetics too," Bushman said.

And here's one more thing to consider: A person doesn't have to stay a narcissist forever.

"Although narcissism is often seen as a deeply ingrained personality trait, it can certainly change," Brummelman said. "When you are narcissistic at one time in life, you're not destined to be narcissistic decades later."

Saturday, March 14, 2015

APA SPONSORS TORTURE

Film About Psychologists Behind CIA's Torture Techniques In Works At HBO

HBO Films is examining the origins of the brutal tactics with Rorschach And Awe, a movie in development, which will be written and directed by Scott Z. Burns (Contagion, The Bourne Ultimatum).

Based on the 2007 Vanity Fair article of the same name by investigative reporter Katherine Eban (you can read ithere), Rorschach And Awe will explore how the CIA hired two psychologists to build a torture program with the full knowledge and cooperation of the American Psychological Association.

In her article, Eban shed light on the roles of psychologists James Elmer Mitchell and Bruce Jessen as architects of the coercive interrogation tactics. For their services, the duo were rewarded with $180 million in CIA contracts, $81 million of which had been paid before the agreement was terminated in 2009.

Burns will executive produce the project through his Wandering Jew banner alongside Michael Sugar of Anonymous Content. American human rights investigator Nathaniel Raymond serves as consultant.

PASTOR CREFLO DOLLAR; MEGA CON!


He says Jesus was rich and is conning thousands of followers (who obviously haven't read the Bible) into believing that if they make him rich they too will one day reap the rewards. Not much different than any other "get rich quick" scam except that this guy uses Jesus to take his followers for a ride. In this case on a spanking new $65 million dollar jet. 

(CNN)– Creflo Dollar is hoping a few folks will see fit to bless him.

The minister, known for being a prosperity preacher at his Atlanta-area World Changers Church International, is seeking “200,000 people committed to sow $300 or more (to) help achieve our goal to purchase the G650 airplane.”

The figures are presented in a nearly six-minute video on the Creflo Dollar Ministries website and total more than $60 million needed to buy the Gulfstream G650, which goes for a reported $65 million. The project isn’t limited to member donations, as the site states that “we are asking members, partners and supporters of this ministry to assist us in acquiring a Gulfstream G650.”

The request goes on to detail that the luxury jet will transport Pastors Creflo and Taffi Dollar and member of the Dollars’ church around the globe to help them spread the gospel.

Prosperity gospel is a theology that promises wealth and health to those who tithe 10% of their income to the church.

The video includes parishioners, a pilot, a project manager and even the President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, advocating on behalf of the pastor.

On the video, the pastor chronicles incidents involving his current jet, which has been in service for more than three decades: The right engine went out en route to Australia, but the plane was able to safely land at its destination thanks to the experience of the pilot and crew. During another trip, mechanical failure caused the jet to skid off a runway in London while Taffi Dollar and their three daughters were aboard.

Dollar attributed his family’s safe arrival to “a grace working on that airplane, that brought my girls back home to me, you understand what I am saying?” he said from the pulpit to thunderous applause.

Dollar said that after those incidents, he “knew that it was time to begin to believe God for a new airplane.”

The Gulfstream G650 would comfortably allow the ministry make its way around the world. It seats up to 14 passengers with berthing for six, according to gulfstream.com.The jet comes with two Rolls-Royce engines, high-speed Internet and two multichannel satellites and allows for a 2½-hour commute from New York to Los Angeles.

“The G650 is the biggest, fastest, most luxurious, longest range and most technologically advanced jet — by far,” according to the site.

In soliciting the donations, Dollar’s site states, “We need your help to continue reaching a lost and dying world for the Lord Jesus Christ. Your love gift of any amount will be greatly appreciated.”






   

Thursday, March 12, 2015

HOMESCHOOLING RACISM

We are not hard wired (born) racist. We are taught to be racist. That should not come as a surprise to anyone living in these United States of America; especially those in the South; and more so those living in Texas.



The SPLC says Texas has the most KKK chapters than any other state in the nation.  Along with Florida, it had one of the lowest LQ scores of 1.3, but because Texas has 18 KKK organizations, almost twice as many as any of the states on SPLC’s list, it made it to the top of this list as the most racist state in the U.S.


Parker Rice, parents of Levi Pettit apologize for ‘horrible mistake’ made in OU SAE video



Moments after Levi Pettit’s family apologized for their son’s behavior in the SAE video, Parker Rice — the recent Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas graduate — sent his own apology, via his father Bob. Here it is in full:

“I am deeply sorry for what I did Saturday night. It was wrong and reckless. I made a horrible mistake by joining into the singing and encouraging others to do the same. On Monday, I withdrew from the university, and sadly, at this moment our family is not able to be in our home because of threatening calls as well as frightening talk on social media.

“I know everyone wants to know why or how this happened. I admit it likely was fueled by alcohol consumed at the house before the bus trip, but that’s not an excuse. Yes, the song was taught to us, but that too doesn’t work as an explanation. It’s more important to acknowledge what I did and what I didn’t do.

RACISM IS ALIVE AND WELL IN CONGRESS

Let's not kid ourselves. The 47 Senators (aka clowns) have no real concerns about Iran. Probably the majority of them would not be able to even find it on a map.



What these 47 politicians are concerned about is that the first black man elected President of the United States (twice) would succeed where those before him have failed.


In 2015, the opposition party is more interested in scoring political points than in practicing international diplomacy. Only seven Republican Senators put country ahead of party by not signing the letter. Senators Lamar Alexander (TN), Susan Collins (ME), Thad Cochran (MS), Dan Coats (IN), Jeff Flake (AZ), Lisa Murkowski (AK), and Bob Corker (TN) did not sign the letter. The other 47 Republican Senators did.


Those 47 Senators are so intent on undermining the current President that they would rather see him fail than allow the White House to secure an agreement with Iran. Presidential contenders Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio may win the allegiance of anti-Obama voters with this maneuver, but they have also shown by meddling in the diplomatic process, that they are more interested in political posturing, than they are in working for the future safety and security of the American people.



Beyond the amusing inaccuracies about U.S. parliamentary order, it seems there are some features of the nuclear negotiations that the signatory senators don’t fully understand — not only on the terms of the deal, but also on who would be party to an agreement.

There are no negotiations on Iran’s “nuclear-weapons program” because the world’s intelligence agencies (including those of the U.S. and Israel) do not believe Iran is currently building nuclear weapons, nor has it made a strategic decision to use its civilian nuclear infrastructure to produce a bomb. An active Iranian nuclear-weapons program would render moot the current negotiations, because Iran would be in fundamental violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The current negotiations are focused on strengthening verifiable safeguards against weaponization over-and-above those required by the NPT, yet the Republican-led Congress, egged on by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is warning that those goals are insufficient, and the terms and time-frame of the deal are unacceptable.

The key element missing from the GOP Senators’ letter, however, is that the deal is not being negotiated between Iran and the United States; it is being negotiated between Iran and the P5+1 group, in which the U.S. is joined by Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China. Even if the U.S. is the key player in that group, the deal being pursued reflects an international consensus — the same consensus that has made sanctions against Iran so effective.

REPUBLICANS CAMPAIGNING FOR BIBI

Rather than doing the job they were elected to do Republicans are using time, space, and tax payer money to campaign for the leader of a foreign country.



Allowing foreign leader to use the halls of Congress to produce campaign ads for themselves is just plain disrespectful to Americans and the politicians that supported it should be removed from office at best or asked to reimburse the US government at least.



Benjamin Netanyahu Using Congressional Address In New Campaign Ad, Just As Critics Warned



WASHINGTON -- When House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced he had invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress just a few weeks ahead of an Israeli election, he was criticized for giving Netanyahu a platform to boost his campaign.

The United States has a policy of not meeting with foreign leaders in advance of elections, so as not to appear to be tilting the electoral balance. But Netanyahu insisted that his motivations had nothing to do with the election, and that the timing of the speech was demanded by the urgency of the Iran nuclear negotiations. There was simply no time to waste.

Already, however, Netanyahu is using his speech as a prop in a campaign commercial back in Israel, where the prime minister is shown basking in the applause of members of Congress who did not boycott his speech.

With five days left until the Israeli elections, Netanyahu launched the 80-second campaign ad above, featuring his controversial address along with footage of rockets being launched.

The ad opens with Netanyahu addressing his main rival, Isaac Herzog, who has vowed to freeze settlement construction near Israel’s pre-1967 borders. “With you, it’s if you did not evacuate [the settlements], you did nothing!” Netanyahu says. He then goes on to list his accomplishments as prime minister, claiming credit for securing additional sanctions against Iran and providing the Israeli military with thousands of interceptors for the Iron Dome during last summer’s Gaza War. Congress approved both the sanctions and the additional funding for the Iron Dome.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

REPUBLICANS THAT DON'T LOVE AMERICA


Senators who reached out to Iran’s leaders to undermine President Barack Obama’s nuclear negotiations probably broke the law, and they're going to get away with it.

The law they probably broke, the Logan Act of 1799, allows for fines and up to three years in prison.

The act bans U.S. citizens from engaging “without authority of the United States” in “correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government ... with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government ... in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States.”

Fortunately for Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and the 46 Senate co-signers of his open letter to Iran, the law is not enforced and is likely unconstitutional.



[RELATED: Democrats Denounce Tom Cotton Letter on Iran]

“They probably were in violation of the act, yes,” says Stephen Vladeck, a professor at the American University Washington College of Law.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, probably broke the law, too, by working with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to undermine the nuclear negotiations with Iran, he says.

But Vladeck, co-editor-in-chief of the legal blog Just Security, says senators could argue they were indeed acting with the authority of the United States or more convincingly that the act violates the First Amendment.

“The Logan Act is a vestigial and anachronistic holdover from a bygone era,” he says. “There's never been a successful prosecution under the act, and the last indictment was in 1803.”


[MORE: Iran Says Cotton Letter Suggests U.S. 'Not Trustworthy' ]

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THIS WHO NEEDS ENEMIES?

What happened to putting your country first? What has happened to this country when it's elected representatives who have sworn to protect and defend the nation violate the very principles for which it stands? To undermine the leader and Commander in Chief rather than support him in deliberately trying to sabotage his his efforts to protect this country. And, for no other reason that to satiate their hatred (and racism) of the man who holds the office. 

Angry Democrats on Tuesday excoriated the open letter sent to Iran’s leadership warning about a nuclear agreement with President Obama, but the 47 Republicans who signed it remained defiant and unapologetic, saying the president should have seen their opposition coming.

The recriminations from Democrats threatened to unravel the bipartisan coalition that had been building to oppose a deal, though Democrats also confronted the choice between challenging Tehran and rallying behind the president.

“I think Republicans have made it harder for us to approach this in a careful and bipartisan way,” said Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, who has led his party’s push for congressional review of the administration’s policies on war and sanctions, and sponsored a bill that would allow Congress to review any removal of congressionally imposed sanctions against Iran.

PINK SLIPS IN RETURN FOR HOODS AND ROBES

FERGUSON, Mo. — Ferguson City Manager John Shaw's resignation was accepted Tuesday night by the city council, effective immediately.

The city council voted 7-0 on a mutual separation agreement, with all members present. Shaw's duties will be divided between various city departments, according to a release from the city.

"I've known John for several years and I wish him luck with future endeavors as we continue to work through the necessary steps to become a community of choice for all residents," said council member Dwayne T. James, in the release.
Ferguson city manager resigns in wake of DOJ report

SAE or KKK?

It looks like we are getting a peek at how racism plays out in the 21st Century. No white robes and hoods, or cross burnings; too transparent. In today's America we need to count on someone with a conscience and a cell phone catching racists in the shadows where the attitudes and beliefs about blacks remains very much the same as they were when we herded blacks chained to benches below deck in ships sailing from Africa to the USA.



Here's a look inside the SAE aka KKK Deadliest and Most Racist?


There's nothing quaint about the nicknames SAE has these days -- on many campuses people say the initials stand for "Sexual Assault Expected" or "Same Assholes Everywhere." The fraternity is also known as the one in which members aremost likely to die. And now it may be called the most racist.

A video that surfaced online Sunday showed members of the University of Oklahoma chapter singing a song that has managed to both "embarrass" the fraternity and echo its segregationist roots.

"There will never be a nigger at SAE," the students sang to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It" while dressed in formal attire and riding a bus. "You can hang him from a tree, but he'll never sign with me. There will never be a nigger at SAE."








The video was posted online Sunday by Unheard, a black student group at OU. The fraternity's national headquarters said Sunday night that an investigation confirmed that it was local SAE members on the video chanting racial slurs against blacks and indicating that blacks would never be admitted to the fraternity's chapter in Norman. The chant also makes reference to lynching.
The fraternity's national organization issued a statement saying the SAE chapter at the school has been closed and its members suspended from the national organization. SAE apologized for the video and said it did not reflect the views of its 15,000 members nationwide.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity closed its University of Oklahoma chapter after a video surfaced online showing members participating in a racist chant. The black student group that released the video says their source wants to remain anonymous. VPC



Monday, March 9, 2015

HUNGER GAMES; DOG SHOW WARS

It's bad enough that countless animals are being abused by subjecting them to a life being used as display ornaments it now look like that the owners are taking it to the next level; killing off the competition.






The co-owners of a slain dog fear a jealous rival at UK’s Crufts is responsible for poisoning their award-winning dog.

Jagger, an Irish Setter, came running for dinner after taking a train back to its Belgium home hours after placing second in its class, the Telegraph reported.

But the beautiful 3-year-old dog collapsed and died in a fit.

“He started having diarrhea and urinating on himself. It looked like a heart attack,” co-owner Aleksandra Lauwers told the Telegraph. “He went into a coma a minute later and died.”

RAPIST GONE WILD!

Bill Cosby is evidently having a "senior" moment coming out in silk PJ's to play to the crowd acting as if he is just "too big a celeb" to be held accountable for his actions.




As his seemingly endless “Maybe If I Don’t Say Anything About Those Sexual Assault Allegations They’ll Go Away” tour continues, Bill Cosby on Monday released a bizarre new video to promote his upcoming standup performances. The clip features the comedian talking about his comedy tour on a rotary phone, while wearing what appear to be fuchsia silk pajamas.


“You know I’ll be hilarious,” Cosby says in the video. “I can’t wait!”

According to ABC News, which received the footage first, the clip marks Cosby’s first video appearance since more than 30 women have come forward to accuse him of sexual assault. A prepared statement that was released along with the clip echoes an earlier statement Cosby released last month, reminding fans that he does not consider the dozens of legacy-shattering allegations of sexual misconduct to be reason enough to stop performing. “Dear Fans: I hope you enjoy my wonderful video message that’s filled with laughter,” the statement said. “Hey, hey, hey, I’m far from finished.”

MEMO TO JUSTICE ROBERTS; RACISM IS ALIVE AND WELL IN OKLAHOMA

While marchers in Selma (Thousands march on Selma, Alabama bridge to mark 'Bloody Sunday')

 celebrate their victories against racism; just like a whack-a-mo it pops up at UofO. This incident and many others that continue to pop up every day every where in this country questions the wisdom of Justice Roberts and his gang of 8 who are making absurd and obviously seriously flawed decisions gutting anti-racist laws that are the only defense against racism in this country.




A video of a racist chant by men alleged to be fraternity brothers at the University of Oklahoma has brought widespread condemnation and the fraternity’s suspension.

The 10-second video features men said to be members of the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE). Though the words are not all intelligible, the chant appears to be: “There will never be a n—– SAE/There will never be a n—– SAE/You can hang ‘em from a tree, but it will never start with me/There will never be a n—– SAE.”

CONSERVATIVE 1% CATHOLICS RUN FOR COVER

Francis makes no apologies for his blunt confrontation of the hypocrisy in the Church he is herding towards reform.

Elizabeth Stoker Bruening, a Christian ethicist and self-described “Christian socialist,” has tackled the controversy of Pope Francis’ first two years in a lengthy and unapologetically personal essay for The New Republic.

Bruening provides an interesting analysis of the pontiff’s theological thinking, but the core of her essay is her analysis of the public’s political reactions to Francis.

Many Catholic commentators have chimed in over the years since Francis took the reins. He’s been labeled a “radical” more than once, and with varying degrees of intent. He’s “a pope of surprises,” according to German Cardinal Walter Kasper.

But Bruening seems particularly interested in the “fear” such “surprises” seem to instill, particularly among conservative-leaning American Catholics.

“He has made no substantial changes to Catholic doctrine, and yet has nonetheless earned opprobrium worthy of extreme tampering,” Bruening wrote.

Indeed, many prominent conservative media voices have expressed their discomfort with Francis’ public statements (which, as Bruening notes, are quite different from actual theological ideas found in ecumenical statements).

Friday, March 6, 2015

NETANYAHU A MASCOT FOR REPUBLICANS

When Republicans want someone to lead the cheering section of their party they call on BIBI!



Inviting foreign leaders to push the Republican conservative agenda on the floor of the People's House (Congress) borders on sedition and Americans are unwittingly being played by a handful of crazed white old men (probably all racists) sitting idly by and allowing this to happen.




Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday urged U.S. lawmakers to reject the nuclear deal being negotiated between Iran and world powers, warning that it would help Iran acquire nuclear weapons and threaten Israel’s survival. Iran’s regime could not be trusted to abide by any agreement, he warned, and he urged the United States to increase pressure on Tehran until it agreed to dismantle much of its nuclear program and change its regional behavior.

The White House has long warned that abandoning the current negotiating framework would open a path to war — an argument he rejected. But the Israeli leader’s characterization of the deal and of Iran’s current nuclear efforts have long been challenged by Western governments involved in the talks.


Netanyahu provided no explanation of how his position would maintain the international coalition on which the sanctions effort depends or on how — without going to war — Iran could be persuaded to settle for his terms.

“On the core issue, which is ‘How do we prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon?’ — which would make it far more dangerous and would give it scope for even greater action in the region — the prime minister didn't offer any viable alternatives,” President Barack Obama said in response to Netanyahu’s speech.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

A RACIST BY ANY OTHER NAME IS STILL A RACIST

The Supreme Court ruled that racism was no longer an issue in these United States.



re; According to Chief Justice John Roberts, "Blatantly discriminatory evasions of federal decrees are rare." With a stroke of his pen, he effectively declared the end of racism in America.



The majority of Republicans (who happen to be white) agree and so it goes without saying that the results of a DOJ investigation into their police force and court system is just a fluke; an isolated case which does not reflect on the broader racial attitudes in the US population (again primarily white conservatives).




In its investigation of the Ferguson, Mo., Police Department, the Justice Department said it found "direct evidence of racial bias" in e-mails from and interviews with "influential Ferguson decision makers," including police commanders and court supervisors, all of whom are current employees.

Several officials "expressed discriminatory views and intolerance with regard to race, religion, and national origin," the report concluded. It described the communications as "unequivocally derogatory, dehumanizing, and demonstrative of impermissible bias."

The Justice Department cited the following e-mails as "illustrative":


 A November 2008 e-mail stated that President Obama would not be president for very long because "what black man holds a steady job for four years."

• A March 2010 e-mail mocked African Americans through speech and familial stereotypes, using a story involving child support. One line from the e-mail read: "I be so glad that dis be my last child support payment! Month after month, year after year, all dose payments!"

• An April 2011 e-mail depicted Obama as a chimpanzee.

• A May 2011 e-mail stated: "An African-American woman in New Orleans was admitted into the hospital for a pregnancy termination. Two weeks later she received a check for $5,000. She phoned the hospital to ask who it was from. The hospital said, 'Crimestoppers.'"

• A June 2011 e-mail described a man seeking to obtain "welfare" for his dogs because they are "mixed in color, unemployed, lazy, can't speak English and have no frigging clue who their Daddies are."

• An October 2011 e-mail included a photo of a bare-chested group of dancing women, apparently in Africa, with the caption, "Michelle Obama's High School Reunion."

• A December 2011 e-mail included jokes that are based on offensive stereotypes about Muslims.

Officials sent the e-mails from their city accounts "almost without exception" and apparently during work hours. Investigators found no evidence that anyone was disciplined or that anyone asked the sender to stop sending such e-mails, which were forwarded to others.

"Critically, each of these e-mail exchanges involved supervisors of FPD's patrol and court operations," the Justice Department wrote. "FPD patrol supervisors are responsible for holding officers accountable to governing laws, including the Constitution, and helping to ensure that officers treat all people equally under the law, regardless of race or any other protected characteristic.

"The racial animus and stereotypes expressed by these supervisors suggest that they are unlikely to hold an officer accountable for discriminatory conduct or to take any steps to discourage the development or perpetuation of racial stereotypes among officers."

It's again going to be interesting to see how the right-wing media (especially the FOX circus show) spins this.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

NETANYAHU DELIVERS STATE OF THE UNION II FOR REPUBLICANS

Republicans are not about to sit back and allow our country to be led by a black man without giving him some competition. Even if it means dragging a white war mongering foreigner in front of the Congress Of the United States so they can have someone (and something) to stand up and cheer about.



If the way these clowns behave wasn't almost treasonous it would be comical. Allowing foreign leaders to stand in front of America's elected officials in the House of the American people to criticize, demean,  threaten, and attempt to diminish the authority of this countries Commander in Chief is a despicable act and a direct affront to the nations Constitution and political system.



Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress interrupted by standing ovations - Telegraph


Netanyahu's speech culminated a diplomatic storm triggered by his acceptance in January of a Republican invitation that bypassed the White House and Obama's fellow Democrats, many of whom considered it an affront to the president.

Obama refused to meet Netanyahu, saying that doing so just ahead of Israel's March 17 general election would be seen as interference. Aides to Obama said he would not be watching the speech, broadcast live on U.S. television.

Underscoring the partisan divide over Netanyahu's address, House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said afterwards that as a friend of Israel, she was near tears during his speech, calling it "an insult to the intelligence of the United States." She said she was "saddened by the condescension toward our knowledge of the threat posed by Iran."

Netanyahu entered the chamber to a cacophony of cheers and applause, shaking hands with dozens of lawmakers, including House Speaker John Boehner, before taking a podium and telling lawmakers he was deeply humbled.



Although given the cold shoulder by the U.S. administration, Netanyahu on Monday offered an olive branch, saying he meant no disrespect to Obama by accepting an invitation to speak to U.S. lawmakers that was orchestrated by the president's rival Republicans.

 

Monday, March 2, 2015

WHAT'S THAT SUCKING SOUND?

It's the sound of the 1% sucking the wealth out of the global economy and laying waste to the 99% of the population who struggle to survive.




Billionaires and politicians gathering in Switzerland this week will come under pressure to tackle rising inequality after a study found that – on current trends – by next year, 1% of the world’s population will own more wealth than the other 99%.

Ahead of this week’s annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in the ski resort of Davos, the anti-poverty charity Oxfam said it would use its high-profile role at the gathering to demand urgent action to narrow the gap between rich and poor.

The charity’s research, published on Monday, shows that the share of the world’s wealth owned by the best-off 1% has increased from 44% in 2009 to 48% in 2014, while the least well-off 80% currently own just 5.5%.

Oxfam added that on current trends the richest 1% would own more than 50% of the world’s wealth by 2016.


Pope Francis has been relentless in his ongoing criticism of these elite few and makes no bones about pointing out that this sit well with his boss, who ironically many of those in the 1% claim allegiance to. 


In an address to the Italian Confederation of Cooperatives Pope Francis has slammed greed and naked capitalism. “Money,” he said, “is the devil’s dung.” “It is not easy to talk about money,” Francis said.

He quoted Saint Basil the Great, the Pope said “Money is the dung of the devil! When money becomes an idol, it rules over a person’s choices. And then it ruins a person and condemns him, turning him into a slave.” He stated new ways had to be found to stop greed,“fueled by the powers that govern the economic and financial policies of the globalized world, whose center is the god of money.”

In September 2013, the Pope used similar tough language to slam wealth.

“Money becomes an idol and you worship it. This is why Jesus tells us: ‘You cannot serve the idol of money and the living God.’ Either one or the other.” Francis called money “the devil’s dung,” saying that “it turns us into idolaters, sickens our mind with pride and makes us enthusiasts of frivolous things that pull us away from the faith.”

He praised the cooperatives, and the Pope admitted for them to grow that : “To do all these things requires money!” He stated “profit is not a god, but only a compass and a yardstick of business.”