Day: January 18, 2016

Dem Debate: A Pleasant Reminder

Class is out and now I would like to talk about the Dem debate of last night……..

Yes, I like Bernie…I will get that out of the way first off…..last night was one of the few Dem debates…..now before I write about the debate itself let me ask…..who’s brilliant idea was it to have the debate in the middle of the NFL playoff?  Since the criteria and schedule were approved by the DNC….who would plan for a debate that would have few watchers?  All fingers point to Wasserman-Schultz….a rabid Clinton supporter….if that is the case she should be shot for being in the bag for Hillary….and not working for ALL Dems……

With that said let’s move on to the debate…….personally I wanted to see how it was handled by the candidates and let me say I was pleasantly surprised…..

The last Democratic debate before Iowa and New Hampshire vote took place Sunday night in South Carolina—and Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were taking no prisoners. The pair clashed over and over again throughout the debate, while Martin O’Malley failed to make much of an impact. Here’s what analysts are saying about the candidates:

  • Bernie Sanders. It’s not unanimous, but a lot of people are calling Sanders the winner. He was more aggressive than usual in dealing with Clinton and “positioned himself as the anti-status-quo candidate, a very good position to have in this electoral environment,” writes Chris Cillizza at the Washington Post, praising the “passion and disruption that Sanders oozed from every pore.” The senator from Vermont was at his best during the debate’s first hour, where he dominated the discussion and was judged the winner by 29 out of 30 undecided voters in a Democratic focus group, Politico reports.
  • Hillary Clinton. Clinton—faced with Sanders’ “louder and bolder” vision—offered “aggressive lessons on political practicality,” trying to portray herself as the more pragmatic and electable candidate, writes Rick Klein at ABC. She scored points by attacking Sanders’ changing positions on guns and taxes, “but was not seen as dealing any decisive blow” writes Allen Rappeport at the New York Times. Isaac Chotiner at Slate, however, declares her the winner, praising her ability to bring Sanders “to earth and seem like just another politician.” Politico’s Glenn Thrush notes that she also scored point by hugging Obama “so hard he needs new ribs.”
  • Martin O’Malley. The former Maryland governor “was most notable for his unsuccessful efforts to get a word in,” according to Rappeport, though Cillizza notes that he managed to come across as likable .”He did well in an impossible situation,” he writes.

In my mind Bernie was spot on and did not back down….Hillary looked like a well oiled machine (not a compliment)……O’Malley needs to bow out…..it is not his year……

So far I have seen or heard nothing that would lessen my support for Bernie……

Feel The Bern!

 

Professor’s Class: Week 2…..Class 3

Friday……After a quick review of the material covered so far…..I told students that we would begin with the years of the Cold War…..until this period Middle East policies were centered mostly around the acquisition of oil….started at the end of World War 2 all that would change and those changes have had lasting consequences…..

I also informed them that the test on Monday would consist of the handouts from Monday and Wednesday….the Cold War would be all inclusive test….

We begin with the end of World War 2…..we will cover the refugees headed to Palestine…..it is not an American foreign policy thing but most of the Cold War centers around the events in Palestine…..

The flow of Jewish refugees into Israel after WW2 was called “Aliyah”…….it is Hebrew for “ascent”……we will discuss the handout…..

Source: History of Jewish Immigration to Israel (Aliyah) | ReformJudaism.org

American troops were stationed in Iran during World War II to help transfer military supplies to the Soviet Union and protect Iranian oil. British and Soviet troops were also on Iranian soil. After the war, Stalin withdrew his troops only when Harry Truman protested their continued presence through the United Nations, and possibly threatened to use force to boot them out.

American duplicity in the Middle East was born: While opposing Soviet influence in Iran, Truman solidified America’s relationship with Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi, in power since 1941, and brought Turkey into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), making it clear to the Soviet Union that the Middle East would be a cold war hot zone.

Truman accepted the 1947 United Nations partition plan of Palestine, granting 57 percent of the land to Israel and 43 percent to Palestine, and personally lobbied for its success. The plan lost support from U.N. member nations, especially as hostilities between Jews and Palestinians multiplied in 1948, and Arabs lost more land or fled.

Truman recognized the State of Israel 11 minutes after its creation, on May 14, 1948.

Thus the tone was set for the years of the Cold War……The Truman Doctrine…….

American troops were stationed in Iran during World War II to help transfer military supplies to the Soviet Union and protect Iranian oil. British and Soviet troops were also on Iranian soil. After the war, Stalin withdrew his troops only when Harry Truman protested their continued presence through the United Nations, and possibly threatened to use force to boot them out.

American duplicity in the Middle East was born: While opposing Soviet influence in Iran, Truman solidified America’s relationship with Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi, in power since 1941, and brought Turkey into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), making it clear to the Soviet Union that the Middle East would be a cold war hot zone.

Truman accepted the 1947 United Nations partition plan of Palestine, granting 57 percent of the land to Israel and 43 percent to Palestine, and personally lobbied for its success. The plan lost support from U.N. member nations, especially as hostilities between Jews and Palestinians multiplied in 1948, and Arabs lost more land or fled.

Truman recognized the State of Israel 11 minutes after its creation, on May 14, 1948.

Class discussion of the Palestine situation……went well….lots of questions asked by students that could not understand the events complete…..I tried to clarify with limited success…..

Informed class to study for test Monday…..and that we would be starting next with the Eisenhower and Kennedy years……

I apologize for not being available for comments until after 1200 hrs…..I am off to teach those young minds…..back soon…..

 

The Oasis Of Bitter Water”

A little Biblical reference for you religious sorts……

Has anyone been following the events in Flint, Michigan?  It seems the state has successfully poison the population with lead in the last couple of months…..

Flint, Michigan’s water woes are officially a federal emergency—nearly two years after the city took the money-saving move of switching from using Lake Huron water treated in Detroit to water from the Flint River. That water was found to be highly corrosive to lead pipes still in use in the city, causing lead to leach into residents’ drinking water. On Saturday President Obama declared a federal emergency in the city of 100,000, thereby unleashing federal funding and authorizing FEMA to provide water, filters, cartridges, and other items for 90 days, per the AP and Detroit Free Press. Gov. Rich Snyder puts the cost of the aforementioned water distribution and filtering items at $41 million. More:

  • Sanders vs. Snyder: Speaking of Snyder, Bernie Sanders called for his resignation Saturday. “The governor long ago knew about the lead in Flint’s water. He did nothing. As a result, hundreds of children were poisoned.”
  • Timeline: The AP has a timelines of the crisis, which dates to the April 2014 switch. Notable: In October 2014, a GM engine plant stopped using Flint’s water, stating that it was rusting parts.
  • Visualized: The Washington Post has a jarring and informative series of graphics that illustrate “how toxic Flint’s water really is.” One family’s water tested at a level that the EPA considers to be “toxic waste.”
  • Every kid: The state’s chief medical executive, along with the doctor who publicly called for Flint to stop its use of Flint River water, this week said all 8,657 kids under age 6 in Flint should be considered exposed to lead and treated as such, reports USA Today.
  • The residents’ ordeal: The AP speaks with some locals. Rabecka Cordell and her 5-year-old son have lead poisoning; she also has leukemia, he has learning and speech disabilities. She refuses to even use the water to bathe.

This all began with the Emergency Manager, that person that can circumvent the democratic process and make decisions about the city without the voice of the people…..it was done to sell property belonging to a city and now the water supply…..

In case you are not familiar with what is happening in Flint…..

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20151008/NEWS/151009959

This should be a lesson in what can happen when the democratic process is ignored…….

Is Jeb! Toast?

If you recall at the very beginning of this election cycle the hot ticket item for the GOP was GW’s brother, Jeb! and since then he has dropped like a turd in a punch bowl…..he has spent more money than anyone and has done nothing but lessen his candidacy…..so the question is how much longer will he suffer the pain and the disappointment?

Politico may have the answer to that question……

Source: Jeb Bush 2016 donors await green light to jump ship – POLITICO

But with all his woes he has picked up an endorsement……

No longer in the race himself, Lindsey Graham has revealed who he’s endorsing for the GOP nominee: Jeb Bush. He made the announcement at a Friday press conference alongside a smiling Bush, per CNN. “His endorsement is very meaningful and along with it come a lot of friends and supporters of his,” Bush told Fox News, per NBC News. However, at least one political analyst is questioning the move. “A guy with 0% (Graham) endorses someone with 5% (Bush),” Matthew Dowd wrote on Twitter. “What kind of strategy is this? No wonder Trump is winning.”

On the Bush front, Politico reports most of the two dozen big donors it interviewed are simply waiting for Bush to throw in the towel so they can open their wallets for another candidate (Politico predicts Bush’s current “Wall Street support” will move on to Marco Rubio). “I’m resigned to it being over, frankly,” says one. Another adds the current fundraising pitch for the Bush camp is, “I need you to throw away money on Jeb!—out of loyalty” to the Bush Family.

That ought pick him up from the pit of despair…..an endorsement from a candidate that could not make it into the debates because he could not make it into the polls….

My thought is….yes……Jeb! is toast…..it is only a matter of time…..tic toc…..

Accuracy In Reporting

I have said on numerous occasions that the media is nothing more than a propaganda arm of the society we live in….I have quoted many stories that they have reported that are not important enough for the rest of the world to pay attention……so for these reasons I ask ….just how accurate re the reports?

Recently I read report of a good day for the US in their battle with ISIS….you see the US has been saying the best way to defeat ISIS is to eliminate their cash flow…..and BAM!  We did just that!

– In what CNN frames as an “extremely unusual” move, a US airstrike on Sunday reportedly destroyed a massive amount of money at an ISIS storage facility in Mosul, Iraq. It’s “probably” the biggest strike against the militant group’s cash sites to date, a Pentagon official tells AFP via the Guardian. “We estimate in the millions of dollars … from all their illicit stuff: oil, looting, extortion,” the official says, with a US military spokesman adding that “the bulk cash distribution site was used by [ISIS] to distribute money to fund terrorist activities.” Two 2,000-pound bombs were dropped on the site, and the defense officials indicate to CNN that this is likely just the first of many strikes against ISIS financial targets. It’s not clear whether the money was in the form of local, US, or foreign currency, the Guardian adds.

Perhaps the most sensitive part of the strike involves civilian deaths, estimated to be between five and seven. Because it’s been getting heat for not working quickly enough against ISIS, the Pentagon has indicated it would consider striking more targets, and accepting the possibility of more civilian deaths—as long as it meant the US-led coalition was reaping sufficient gains against ISIS, the Guardian reports. In this case, defense officials say that commanders were “willing to consider up to 50 civilian casualties,” CNN reports, and that they purposely waited till dawn on Sunday to strike to try to keep the figure low. Meanwhile, ISIS posted a video (still not verified) on Monday allegedly showing the destruction of the site, Haaretz reports. Two local residents confirmed to Reuters that it was a bank in one of the city’s eastern districts.

Good news for the War on Terror, right?

If so why is there very little about this “good news” in the international press?

It may have destroyed the cash….but what about the cash flow?

Is this yet another act of propaganda?

In all fairness….there is more…….

After writing this draft, 3 days later, more news has come out on this story……

Source: Video: Coalition airstrike destroys Islamic State cash stockpile sending clouds of money into the air – Telegraph

After seeing this it once again begs more questions……