Sunday, April 26, 2015

Short post, but interesting news and opinion

Update

Between Church and a friend's birthday party for his 5-year-old, little time today. Short post, but interesting items. ~Bob




The granddaughter, Britnye, and her friend Corinn at their dance competition Saturday. Scary how old she looks at 14. 

General News and Comment



Excerpt: The constitutional ban on foreign cash payments to U.S. officials is known as the Emoluments Clause and originated from Article VI of the Articles of Confederation. The purpose of the clause was to prevent foreign governments from buying influence in the U.S. by paying off U.S. government officials. Here’s the text of the clause: No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

Foreign donations leave Hillary in a cloud. By Ruth Marcus
Excerpt: Foreign interests, like their U.S. counterparts, may give to the Clinton Global Initiative out of the goodness of their hearts and their commitment to the foundation’s many important works. They may also give motivated by the perception, whether reality-based or not, that the way to Hillary Clinton’s attention is through her family’s foundation. Indeed, this was the very reason that the Obama administration and the Senate, weighing her nomination to be secretary of state in 2009, appropriately insisted that donations to the foundation be publicly reported, and that — while existing foreign government donors would be permitted to keep giving at the same levels — new government donors or dramatically stepped-up donations would require approval from State.



The Clintons Took Cash to Help Putin Control the World Uranium Market
Excerpt: Since uranium is considered a strategic asset, with implications for national security, the deal had to be approved by a committee composed of representatives from a number of United States government agencies. "Among the agencies that eventually signed off was the State Department, then headed by Mr. Clinton's wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton. As the Russians gradually assumed control of Uranium One in three separate transactions from 2009 to 2013, Canadian records show, a flow of cash made its way to the Clinton Foundation. (Clintons netted $2.35 million per article. And she wants to be POTUS? There will be nothing left to be POTUS of thanks to her and her family. What constitutes treason? --Barb)

Tweet from SAM ‏@McSAMN 
Rosenbergs gave Russia A-Bomb & they were put to Death. Hill gave Russia Uranium 4 Bombs, Dems want her 2 B POTUS

Russian hackers obtained Obama's unclassified emails, report says
Excerpt: Russian hackers reportedly obtained some of President Obama’s emails when the White House’s unclassified computer system was hacked last year, indicating that the breach was significantly more intrusive than originally thought....Officials did not tell The Times how many emails were obtained, but admitted that the unclassified system often contains highly sensitive information that includes schedules, email exchanges with ambassadors and diplomats, and debates about policy and legislation.... That Obama’s emails were obtained by Russian hackers in particular – presumed to be linked to the Russian government – caused the intrusion to be seen as so serious that officials met on a nearly daily basis for several weeks afterwards, The Times reported. (Figure this: Hillary uses private server from her home and emails POTUS while she is Secy of State. HC and Clinton Foundation being implicated in suspicious US uranium ore rights sales to Russia and Clinton Foundation receives large donation....Russian government "intrudes" in US government. Per one radio host, shades of Rosenbergs. The final nail in our/Israel's coffin? Putin approves ICBMs for Iran. What flexibility they all have. --Barb)

Sen. Warren calls on Obama to declassify trade deal details
Excerpt: Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is asking President Obama to make public classified information in the international trade deal that he’s asking Congress to ‘fast track’ -- the latest incident in which the populist, first-term Democratic senator appears critical of the president’s relationship with Wall Street and big business. At issue is the Trans-Pacific Partnership, known as the TPP -- a significant deal with 11 Pacific Rim nations that aims to create a free trade zone in the Asia-Pacific region....However, Warren and Brown argue in the letter that by deeming the draft text classified and from public view, the Obama administration has, in fact, made the deal secret. (The "folks" don't need to know nuthin' until it's too late. Heard on the radio that basically, the US is an oligarchy run by transnational corporations and US citizens and their votes no longer matter....the political parties no longer matter. Global. Wonder what the regime will dig up on Warren....Barb)

White House report offers more on NSA spying on Americans' calls, with Patriot Act set to expire
Excerpt: The Patriot Act expires on June 1, and Senate Republicans have introduced a bill that would allow continued collection of call records of nearly every American. The legislation would reauthorize sections of the Patriot Act, including the provision under which the NSA requires phone companies to turn over the "to and from" records of most domestic landline calls. After the program was disclosed in 2013 by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, President Barack Obama and many lawmakers called for legislation to end that collection, but a bill to do so failed last year. (Political parties no longer matter. They want the folks by the cojones. Where you go, what you say, your health records, drug records, psych records. All can be used to squeeze and sort. Heard on interview of Mr. Whitehead, author of Battlefield America, that "Homeland Security" is a Soviet term. My, oh my. --Barb)

Crony Capitalists Strike Again. By Bruce Bialosky 
Excerpt: There are not many things mainstream Republicans have in common with Elizabeth Warren leftists other than their mutual disdain for crony capitalism. The main difference here is that the Left mistakenly believes that these people who feed at the trough of government are actually Republicans. The Left beds down politically with these affluent bloodsuckers while they live in disdain of the Koch Brothers who take no government support. These crony capitalists have struck again and this time they will live to regret it.

Awesome: After Flag Desecration, University Does Something Incredible to Support Veterans and the Flag
Excerpt: Last week on the campus of Valdosta State University, an alleged group of Black Panther members used the American flag as a sign of racial protest, trampling and desecrating the flag in the process. When military veteran and former model Michelle Manhart received word that the group of protesters had thrown the flag on the ground and stomped on it, she took action and subsequently took the flag into her possession, causing a ruckus on campus that ended with her being detained by police and banned from the campus. In response to her brave flag rescue and in a massive show of support for Old Glory, an event was created on Facebook called “Flags over VSU,” with over four thousand supporters registering to attend.

Who knew she was racist? Warren to Obama: Stop making 'untrue' trade claims
Excerpt: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told President Obama on Saturday he was making “untrue” claims about his opponents — including herself. The feud between Obama and the left continued Saturday, when Warren and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) called on the president to immediately declassify the negotiating terms of a pending trade deal with a host of nations known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. In an effort to push through trade legislation that would help finalize the deal, Obama has blasted critics on the left, saying they are “wrong” and “don’t know what they’re talking about.” (You'd think a 1/23-Indian-by-family-legend would know it's racist to criticize a black president. ~Bob)

Race Card News


Fighting for Justice in Baltimore

Mayhem Erupts in Baltimore at Protests Over Freddie Gray Death. By Colleen Curry
Excerpt: Hours after Baltimore police promised "deep, systemic changes in the culture" of their department to protesters upset over the death of Freddie Gray, waves of violence and looting shook the city. Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said that demonstrations and marches were peaceful until about 7pm, when protesters became "agitated" and clashed with police around Camden Yards baseball stadium. Fans inside the stadium were told to stay inside.

‘Stop!’: Reporter Gets a Close-Up During Freddie Gray Protests. Then Someone Pushes Her to the Ground and Robs Her.
Excerpts: A reporter for the Russian news outlet Russia Today (RT) was attacked and robbed while she recorded footage of young men in Baltimore during Saturday night’s violent Freddie Gray protests.

Tweet from Vanessa Herring ‏@Vanessa_Herring  (Black reporter)
One man who was at the rally told me he figured the protest wouldn't remain peaceful he says b/c ppl flew in from STL



Video: Mayor of Baltimore Says City Provided “Safe Spaces” For Protesters To Destroy If They Chose To

Disgusting: Video from Whites Attacked by ‘Freddie Gray’ Mob Shows Handicapped Woman Under Assault. By Sooper Mexican
Excerpt: There was video of this incident in Baltimore from far away, but this morning I found this video from one of the patrons inside the bar, and halfway through it, you clearly see that they’re trying to protect a handicapped woman in a wheelchair under the onslaught of projectiles thrown by the unruly mob. ... But of course, we’re going to be told the protest and looting had nothing to do with race, right? Is that why people protected their businesses by putting out “black owned” signs out front?

JPSO: Arrests in 'execution-style' murder of father, son
Excerpt: The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office says 17-year-old Dexter Allen and 18-year-old Haraquon Degruy are responsible for the execution-style murder of David and Nicholas Pence on Wednesday. (Black killers, unarmed white victims. No #whitelivesmatter riots or protests so far. ~Bob)

Religion of Peace News

Muqawama Suriya Statement: Loss of Jisr al-Shughur: Translation and Analysis. By Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi
Excerpt: The Muqawama Suriya, as I have profiled previously, is a pro-Assad militia led by Turkish born Alawite Ali Kayali, who prior to the Syrian civil war had been focused on bringing the Sanjak of Alexandretta in Turkey under Syrian rule. Though the group is primarily based in Latakia, it also had considerable influence in Idlib province, including in Idlib city and Jisr al-Shughur, both of which recently fell to rapid rebel offensives spearheaded by jihadist forces, including Jabhat al-Nusra and the Turkestan Islamic Party. In the latest statement below from the Muqawama Suriya Aleppo office, the defeat in Jisr al-Shughur is portrayed as a strategic retreat and regrouping on the periphery, with emphasis on the need for Syrians to support the long war effort. Below is a photo from Jisr al-Shughur last year when the Muqawama Suriya advocated for the "re-election" of Assad as president.

3 family members charged in Texas "honor killing" of Iranian activist
Excerpt: Investigators say that an Iranian activist was gunned down by Jordanian immigrants in 2012 because they believed she helped convert their Muslim daughter to Christianity, reports CBS affiliate KHOU. Gelareh Bagherzadeh, a 30-year-old researcher at MD Anderson, was shot to death outside her parent's home in the Galleria area.

Survivors outraged after learning Tsarnaev's family's trip to US paid for with American tax dollars
Excerpt: As of Thursday, family members of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have been staying at the Hampton Inn in Revere under very tight security, just one of the things tax dollars are paying for. FOX25's Sharman Sacchetti investigated how much this trip is costing you. Sources say these family members are being called as witnesses and not only that, at least three agencies are working around the clock to protect and transport them. 

Officials: FBI probes possible ISIS-inspired threat. By Evan Perez and Shimon Prokupecz, CNN
Excerpt: The FBI is investigating a possible ISIS-inspired terrorist threat in the United States, law enforcement officials said Saturday. The investigation originated from intercepted chatter and other intelligence information that led officials to believe a possible plot could be in the works, the officials said. No arrests have been made. It's not clear whether the threat is real or aspirational.

Backgrounder: The Armenian Genocide
Excerpt: Compiled by Middle East Forum web editor and research fellow Gary C. Gambill. On the one-hundredth anniversary of the start of deportations culminating in the deaths of up to 1.5 million Armenian Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire, the question of whether these atrocities constitute "genocide" remains hotly debated. Turkish officials maintain that the deaths were normal wartime excesses, in the midst of a world war when the empire was fighting for its life. On the other side, the descendants of Armenian victims and survivors throughout the world maintain that the mass killings were a planned, deliberate campaign of extermination. The weight of academic scholarship has tilted decidedly toward the latter view.

Excerpt: The Islamic State seized control of a dam and overran a military barracks in the Thar Thar area in western Iraq over the past several days. Over 120 Iraqi soldiers and a senior general were killed during the Islamic State offensive. In a video released by ‘Amaq News, the Islamic State’s unofficial news agency, the jihadist group claimed to have taken control of the Thar Thar dam, which is located northeast of Fallujah in Anbar province. Islamic State fighters attacked the complex with “explosive-laden vehicles,” or suicide car bombs, before engaging with Iraqi troops in a firefight, Reuters noted. Also, the jihadist group was able to take over a nearby military barracks.

IDF kills four terrorists trying to infiltrate Israel from north
Excerpt: Four terrorists trying to place a bomb along Israel's border with Syria were killed Sunday evening. The incident came after reports in Arab media said Israel 

*****
Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam Veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts State Senate. He is the author of The Coming Collapse of the American Republic. http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Collapse-American-Republic-prevent/dp/1461122538/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1304815980&sr=1-5 For a free PDF of Collapse, e-mail him at tartanmarine(at)gmail.com. Hall’s eleven books are listed here:

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