So You Want A Scandal?
Posted: 21 May 2013 Filed under: Military, News | Tags: Sexual Abuse, US Troops, Veterans Leave a comment »I guess I will jump on the scandal du jour bandwagon….at least for a couple of days….there are “real” scandals that we need to talk about and few have anything to do with the crap being made up these days….
These days of scandals is NOTHING but theatrics….Benghazi is NOT a scandal…..IRS is not a scandal…the same thing was done by Nixon in the 70′s against anything related to the “radical Left”….if it was wring now it was wrong then but it was not as big a deal……the AP story could be a kick in the ass but I do not think it was a scandal……
But there are issues that should be more reported and then they would be scandals….I blame the media for ignoring, for the most part, stories that shed a bad light on a sector of our government…..I realize the military is scared in some circles and for that reason this will be a short lived issue….the GOP and others will find yet another issue to turn into a “scandal”…….but until then I want to stress the issue that is being largely ignored so that overpaid news anchors can ask stupid question like when did the prez know and why is why looking so uninformed?
The sad thing is this situation is under reported……
(Newser) – An AP report reveals the stunning scope of the sexual assault crisis rocking the military: Last year, more than 85,000 veterans received treatment for sex abuse, while 4,000 applied for disability benefits; 40% of those treated were men. The cases run as far back as the Vietnam War, with the most common long-term effects being post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, the AP notes based on Department of Veterans Affairs data. The VA says one in five women and one in 100 men screen positive for “military sexual trauma,” defined by the VA as “any sexual activity where you are involved against your will,” ranging from sexual harassment to rape.
When it comes to getting treatment, “a veteran can simply walk through the door, say they’ve had this experience, and we will get them hooked up with care. There’s no documentation required,” says a member of the military sexual trauma team. But those seeking disability compensation face hurdles: Vets must be diagnosed with PTSD or a similar problem, submit proof of the assault or harassment, and have a VA examiner confirm a link to their health condition. “Ninety percent of 26,000 cases last year weren’t even reported,” says an activist. “So where is that evidence supposed to come from?” Records show about half of vets seeking such compensation last year had their claim approved.
Typical American politics….if we ignore it long enough maybe it will go away…..this should NEVER go away!
That Was The Week That Was–05-11 May 2013
Posted: 13 May 2013 Filed under: News, Politics, Society | Tags: Media, Right Wing Opposition 4 Comments »In case you live in a vacuum or an experiment like Schrodinger’s cat ………..
I get all kinds of emails and this one is one of the best….10 things idiots did last week….from Think Progress War Room….
10 Crazy Things the Right Did This Week
Another week, another 10 helpings of crazy brought to by the right wing.
- Heritage Foundation puts out shoddy report claiming immigrants are takers not makers, conservatives pounce. In a remarkable display this week, the Heritage Foundation put out a study claiming that immigration reform will cost $6.3 TRILLION over the next ten years (Ed. note: it won’t). Immediately, conservatives like Grover Norquist and groups like the American Enterprise Institute and Cato stepped up to trash the report.
- Heritage Foundation report co-written by racist who has previously written for white nationalist websites. The co-author of the aforementioned report, Jason Richwine, wrote his PhD dissertation about how racial minorities like Hispanics have inherently lower IQs. In addition to these obviously racist views, he also wrote for a white nationalist website and appeared at a conference alongside a well-known white nationalist. Richwine resigned from Heritage late Friday afternoon. More to come tomorrow!
- Senator proposes ‘Downton Abbey amendment’ to immigration reform bill. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) is an avowed enemy of immigration reform including a pathway to earned citizenship, but he appears to have found some jobs he approves of undocumented immigrants being allowed to have: domestic workers. Lee proposed an amendment to allow undocumented immigrants to be hired, but only as domestic workers, specifically including cooks, waiters, butlers, governessess, maids, valets, gardeners, footmen, grooms, and chauffeurs.
- Shadowy conservative group cuts ad featuring New Hampshire moms, except the moms turn out to be GOP activists. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) has seen her standing with Granite Staters plummet since she voted against expanded background checks. AnIowa-based secret money group rode the rescue this week with an ad backing Ayotte that purported to show regular moms supporting her. It turns out these regular moms were actually regular GOP activists.
- House GOP stages Benghazi hearing, learns nothing new. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) continued the GOP’s Benghazi witch hunt this week with a dramatic hearing. After the hearing, however, Issa admitted that the only thing we learned is that it was a terrorist attack — something President Obama acknowledged in the Rose Garden the day after the attack happened. In other words, we didn’t learn anything new at all as a result of the hearing. In fact, many of the GOP’s star witnesses actually debunked various right-wing conspiracy theories.
- GOP senate nominee claimed a $281,500 deduction that the IRS has referred to as a “tax scam.” Massachusetts GOP senate nominee Gabriel Gomez made an agreement with a local conservation association not to alter the facade of his historic home, something which earned him a $281,500 tax deduction. It turns out that he was already legally barred from making any changes. The IRS and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) have both highlighted this practice as an egregious “tax scam.”
- Tea Party activist calls for armed march on Washington, D.C. A Tea Party radio host called for protesters carrying loaded rifles to cross into the District of Columbia, which has very strict gun laws, from Virginia. After the police indicated they would meet the gun-toting protesters at the D.C. line, the host then called for mass lawbreaking in addition to the armed gun march.
- GOP demands budget process then prevents said process from happening. For the past few years, the GOP has demanded that the Democratic-controlled Senate pass a budget and then confer with the House under the “regular order.” Democrats passed a budget in March, but now Senate Republicans are blocking Senate Democrats from starting an official conference committee with the House, since that would expose the GOP’s unwillingness to compromise. “I think for us to after four years of complaining about Harry Reid’s failure to bring up a budget and then we do one and block conference is something that’s incomprehensible,” said Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).
- Fox News brings on convicted cover-up expert to discuss alleged Benghazi cover-up. Following the aforementioned House GOP hearing on Benghazi, Fox News brought on Oliver North to discuss the alleged cover up. North himself was of course actually convicted of participating in the Iran-Contra cover-up.
- NRA makes some suspicious suggestions. At their national conference last weekend, the NRA suggested that parents store their firearms in their children’s rooms (in case of a home invasion). And the NRA’s youth magazine suggested that children build their own indoor, at-home shooting ranges.
Just thought I would keep everyone up to date on the happenings from the Right…..I will keep doing this every Monday as long as my readers appreciate it…….let me whatcha think.
Get A Little Piece Of Heaven
Posted: 11 May 2013 Filed under: Business, News | Tags: Planets, Retirement, Space 6 Comments »The weekend has arrived and time to look at the rest of the news to find stuff that is unusual and fun…….
I know you have gotten those “retirement” village flyers telling you that you can retire and find your a little piece of heaven here on earth…….but this guy can actually sell you a little of heaven…..
(Newser) – Calling it the biggest loophole in the world doesn’t quite capture its reach: Dennis Hope claims that he owns the moon—and our solar system’s planets—due to what the Outer Space Treaty doesn’t say. Mashable reports the treaty has been the guiding document on space law since 1967, and while it bars any country on Earth from laying claim to a heavenly body, it makes no mention of private companies or individuals doing just that. So Hope formed Lunar Embassy Corp, snatched up the property rights to the moon and more, and has been selling off one-acre lots since.
Though Yahoo shines a light on Hope’s offerings (your own piece of the moon will cost just $19.99 an acre; Mars will run you slightly more at $22.49), it’s far from the first time he’s been in the news. He was featured in the documentary Lunarcy!, out last month on Epix, notes the Hollywood Reporter, and he’s talked to media before. As National Geographic previously reported, Hope thinks he has solid ground to stand on: He registered his moon claim with the UN in 1980, and got no answer, which he thinks means it’s a go. And while there’s still plenty of real estate to be had, Hope has sold more than a nominal amount of each: 600 million moon acres (about 7.5% of it) and 325 million Mars acres. He says two former US presidents are landowners as well as 250 “very well known celebrities,” as are two US hotel chains. But Hope does draw the line somewhere: The Apollo landing sites are off-limits.
Hey I got a bridge or two that I need to sell maybe I will contact this guy……
Thoughts!
In Bed With Al Qaeda?
Posted: 10 May 2013 Filed under: Energy, International Situations, News | Tags: Al-Qaeda, Oil, Oil Prices, Syria Leave a comment »I apologize to my readers that find the Middle East a bit tiring…..well it is tiring….but I have no choice I have a grad degree in Middle East Studies and have worked and lived there…..I feel obligated to tell the stories that are seldom told in the Western media….there is more going on in the region that most Americans are aware of on any given day……please bear with me I will get back to other stuff soon…..thanx for your patience…..
We hear many stories in the media about AQ…many of them are true….we Americans hate the very name, thanx to 9/11….we detests anyone and anything AQ….but does the rest of the West feel the same way? England should because of the attacks, right?
On to another subject……oil! We know how important oil is to our economy and our lives….and we all know the influence that OPEC has on the world and the prices of oil……
Now to tie the two thoughts together……
From a site called “Staff & Scrip”……
The decision of the European Union to lift the embargo on Syrian government’s energy exports by importing oil from the ‘armed opposition’is another flagrant violation of international law. It violates the UN General Assembly declaration of 1962 on Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources and is yet another violation of the 1981 UN declaration on the Inadmissibility of Intervention and Interference in the Internal Affairs of States. But it is much more than a technical violation of the law. It marks the decent of civilization into barbarism.
London and Paris, have more than Washington, been at the forefront of aggression against Syria. In spite of the fact that it has now been confirmed by most media sources that the Syrian ‘opposition’ is Al-Qaeda, London and Paris persist in their insane drive to arm the terrorists, using the spurious argument that if they don’t arm the ‘moderates’ the ‘extremists’ will take over the country. However, in thewords of the New York Times, ‘nowhere in rebel-controlled Syria is there a secular fighting force to speak of’. [1] The fact that the Syrian ‘rebels’ are in fact Al- Qaeda has even been admitted by the war-mongering French daily Le Monde.[2]
So, Paris and London are pushing for further arming of Al-Qaeda and the legalization of oil trading with the jihadi terrorists. In plain language this means that the loose, terrorist network known to the world as Al-Qaeda will soon become one of the EU’s partners in the oil business…
I am still working on verifying the info…..if I find something different I will post on it………..
How will that sit with the American people? Probably will not matter. As long as they keep their cars that use 2 gallons to the mile then they will smile and pay the money….caring little that AQ will be in control of their addiction….
A Bomber Rant
Posted: 4 May 2013 Filed under: News, Observations | Tags: Terrorists, War On Terror 4 Comments »I will break protocol today…I usually try to post on anything but politics on the weekends….
I was not going to write any more about the dastardly act of terror in Boston……..but then I started hearing all the conspiracies and the bigots take to the airways to spread their unsubstantiated reports of bullsh*t………
Has anyone noticed that the crack pots on the Right are sure that these whack-a-doodle bombers were radicalized by Islamist……apparently they have info that the authorities are unaware of or they are just making this crap up…..my guess is the latter….people like Beck, Alex Jones, Drudge and a wealth of uninformed mind numbing asshats on the Right…..my fav bullsh*t report states that the bomb was set off by the FBI and these kids were just the patsy they needed……
From the information that I have seen….barring the lunatic fringe on both sides of the political insane rooms…….my opinion is that they were amateurs.
Why?
One, the Chechen separatists have NO argument with the US….only with the imperialism of Russia….if they would have trained someone then the destruction would have been within the borders of Russia.
Two, the technique of acquiring the 3 pounds of black powder is pure amateurish….there is an easier and more effective way to acquire the needed substance…..and this way would not involve crossing state lines to buy it….and it is totally legal……
Three, there were no plans for escape….if they were suicide bombers then they would not need one (this was never in their plan)….but if they were professional trained terrorist that wanted to strike again they would have had a better plan……
Four, there are more effective ways to build a Claymore like device and could have been made easier and cheaper (pressure cookers are not cheap)……
From the information available on ‘real’ sites these guys were rank amateurs that were looking for attention and 15 minutes of fame….from the way they went about the whole episode was taken off of some lunatic fringe website….I do not believe there was any training other than maybe some video on a site……these were stupid teenagers that were looking for a thrill…..
Please, before some asshat tries to claim that I am defending terrorists….I am not! I am defending NO one….these types need to be put away for a very long time never to breath the air of freedom again….Until more information comes to light, to assume these 2 men were anything but rank amateurs is disingenuous……and nothing more than fear mongering and spewing hate and racism…….and anyone that takes those Right asshats seriously without more proof are MORONS!
Do I need to repeat that?
According to the FBI, Jewish extremists commit more terror than Islamic extremists – BlackListedNews.com
Posted: 3 May 2013 Filed under: News, Religion, Society | Tags: Religious Extremism, Terrorists 4 Comments »We hear daily about those darn pesky Islamic fundamentalists and their massive program of destruction…..but there is more to the story than FUX will tell you…….
The Bush Library
Posted: 1 May 2013 Filed under: News, Politics | Tags: Cartoon, Political Humor, Pres. Bush 4 Comments »I was going to try and be above the trashing of the new Bush Presidential Library………But I could not resist….sorry…..
While You Were Napping
Posted: 29 April 2013 Filed under: Foreign policy, International Situations, News | Tags: Armed Conflict, Middle East, Syria, World Affairs 2 Comments »Inkwell Institute
This week barring any major happenings I will focus on international issues……
A lot has happened in the past month….a lot for the media to fixate on….sadly the doings in Syria have fallen by the wayside of coverage……..and possibly NO one really cares anymore, especially the twats in Washington….but there are things happening that cannot be good in the long run……
(Newser) – The head of Jabhat al-Nusra, a jihadist group at the forefront of Syria’s civil war, has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda honcho Ayman al-Zawahiri. What that means isn’t exactly crystal clear at this point. While Al-Qaeda in Iraq says the groups have merged under the snappy title of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, al-Nusra chief Abu Mohammed al-Jawalani denies his group will be ordering new letterhead just yet, the BBC reports. “The banner of the Front will remain unchanged despite our pride in the banner of the State and those who carried it and sacrificed and shed their blood for it,” he said in an audio message, the AP reports.
Al-Nusra is among the most effective of the rebel groups fighting the Syrian government. It has committed more than 40 successful bombing attacks and has been on the frontline of clashes against Assad forces, adds the Daily Beast. The alliance is not a surprise (Obama labeled it a terrorist organization last year), but it is concerning, says CNN. Al-Nusra’s success on the battlefield and reputation for distributing free bread makes it popular with everyday Syrians. With a powerful army in Syria, al-Qaeda would gain a strong strategic position in the Middle East, and a safe haven for long-term scheming.
Back in January I predicted that the Syrian civil war would spill over into neighboring countries…there have been some minor excursions across into Turkey and Lebanon……the the situation could only get worse with this news…….and since the rumor of chemicals being used is also a reason this could be a prelim to a wider participation of the US…….
Yes! Earth 2!
Posted: 28 April 2013 Filed under: News | Tags: Astronomy, Extraterrestrial, Planets, Science 2 Comments »More sdiencey stuff…..the stuff that makes it worthwhile to be on the ‘net….
Back in January of this year when I made my predictions for the year I said then that scientist would discover Earth 2……..and it looks like Nostradamus has a rival….ME!
Newser) – The Kepler telescope is certainly earning its keep. It has found even more Earth-like planets, NASA announced today, and one is being described as the most Earth-like yet. The news of Kepler-62f comes as part of the discovery of three exoplanets that could possibly support life, explains Space.com. Kepler-62f is just 40% bigger than our own planet, and orbits a star that’s only 20% as bright as our sun; the neighboring Kepler-62e circles the same star, which is 1,200 light years away. And as the AP explains, they’re just the right size (past ones have been too big, and are likely gas balls like Neptune) and in just the right place (ie, the habitable zone, where it’s not too hot or cold) near their star. “This is the first one where I’m thinking ‘Huh, Kepler-62f really might have life on it’,” says a co-author of the study on the two, published today.
Space.com explains that a separate modeling study indicates the planets might be completely covered in oceans. As for temperature, chief Kepler scientist William Borucki says Kepler-62e is a bit warm, like a Hawaiian world, and Kepler-62f is a bit chilly, more Alaskan. The third exoplanet spotted is Kepler-69c; it’s 70% bigger than Earth but revolves around a star much like our own; it’s being described as the smallest world located in the habitable zone of a star akin to our sun. These are just the most promising of Kepler’s latest lot; an additional four planets were found in the two new solar systems identified, but none of them could support life.
And I did it without the necessity of a de-coder ring……huh?
Recycling Program To End! Happy Earth Week!
Posted: 26 April 2013 Filed under: Environment, News, Society | Tags: Mercury, poisoning, pollution 3 Comments »This week is Earth Week…..are you celebrating?
In keeping with the theme of this week I will post a piece on the environment…….when I started this blog about 7 years ago I wrote a piece about the new light bulbs that were all the rage…..the CFLs…..you know those compact little screwy looking bulbs that they are trying to get the whole world to switch in an attempt to protect the environment…..the post I wrote pointed out that these bulbs have mercury in them and I was concerned that the disposal of these into local landfills would eventually make our groundwater toxic, once the mercury leached into the soil……..I had a comment from a reader that pointed out that Home depot was providing people a collection center for later disposal……I thanked them for pointing that out but I was then concerned on just how many people would take the time to use such a service or would they be lazy and throw them away in their family trash which in turn would go to the landfill and eventually the mercury would make it into the drinking water…….I was called an alarmist many times and I guess I may have been the alarmist that people thought…….
But then I saw an article about a happening in Canada that played into my alarmist nature…….
A large home improvement retailer has decided to quietly pull the plug on its compact fluorescent light-bulb-recycling program nationwide, upsetting an environmental non-profit that has handed out hundreds of thousands of the energy-efficient bulbs in Canada.
Home Depot started selling CFL bulbs, which contain a small amount of mercury, about six years ago. And around the same time they also started collecting the burned-out bulbs — until last week.
An email from a Home Depot spokeswoman said “changes to the enforcement of compliance requirements in a number of provinces” made the company decide to leave the job to other recycling programs in Canada.
In addition to cancelling the CFL bulb recycling program nationwide, Home Depot has also cancelled its paint recycling programs in Ontario and Quebec.
How will this effect the US? Will Home Depot here in the lower part of North America follow suit? What are the alternatives in recycling for these potentially dangerous bulbs?
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