Month: February 2018

Afghanistan Update

I wish that I did not have to report an update to a 17 year war…….my granddaughter has never known a time when the US was not at war……but since we are still fighting God knows who I need to keep my readers informed…

The Pentagon Inspector General has released a new report on Friday regarding the Afghan War. The report contradicts administration claims that escalation of the conflict was making headway, concluding that “no significant progress” was made in the war in all of 2017.

It is particularly noteworthy, as the Inspector General used actual metrics to gauge progress, noting that the stated goal was to get 80% of Afghanistan’s population under government control, and that the US is no closer to reaching that, with most estimates in the 60% range, still the lowest in the war.

16+ years into the US war in Afghanistan, they control less territory than ever. Despite a priority in striking opium poppy cultivation, that too hit a record in 2017. No substantial changes have been made since the escalation.

The narrative that the war has “turned the corner” has been a popular one for years, indeed over a decade, but the reality is that the war has been struggling throughout, and even claims of a “stalemate” are wildly optimistic.

(antiwar.com)

We are always hearing from whoever is in the White House that we are only days away from a total victory in Afghanistan…..that forecast is more bullsh*t from the WH.

Before Trump occupied the Oval Office he was Tweeting that we need to get out of Afghanistan…..as early as 2013…..

Whatever happened to the Donald Trump who tweeted in 2013, “Let’s get out of Afghanistan … we waste billions there. Nonsense!”

And whatever happened to the reality TV star who used to tell under-performers, “you’re fired”?

Today, as commander in chief, President Trump is indefinitely extending the Afghan war’s record as the longest in U.S. history. He’s wasting $45 billion to wage it this year alone. And he’s not even thinking of firing his huckster generals who claim that sending a few thousand more troops and stepping up the bombing will be a “game changer.”

Much like the Vietnam War, every day’s news of war from Afghanistan puts the lie to optimistic claims of a military solution. A recent BBC study concluded that Taliban forces are now active in 70 percent of the country, more than at any time since the end of 2001. Unofficial U.S. estimates of their strength have soared from about 20,000 in 2014 to at least 60,000 today.

http://theantimedia.org/war-afghanistan-nonsense/

No one sees Afghanistan as a victory or a success…..what it is is a cash cow for the M-IC…….the longer the war the more profits are made….time to call out the d/bags and cowards…..time to declare a victory and bring the troops home.

We have invested enough blood in this country.

Apparently not yet….

the Washington Postreported that the U.S. Air Force is now bombing Chinese Islamist separatists in a remote corner of Northeast Afghanistan. You’ve likely never heard of the group, the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), nor should you have. These ethnic Uyghurs want to secede from China and form their own state in western Xinjiang province. They do not present any sort of existential threat to the United States. Sure, they’ve made common cause with Al Qaeda when it suited them, but overall, according to a terrorism analyst at the Woodrow Wilson Center, ETIM “typically has local aims.” Sounds to me like a China problem.

The Post report indicated just how far the U.S. effort in that country has gone off the rails—it is now almost entirely and openly disconnected from vital U.S. interests yet continues apace at a cost of $45 billion annually.

http://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2018/02/trumps-aimless-war-afghanistan-expands-again/146126/

Same sh*t, Different president!

Let’s Blame The Illuminati

My Sunday begins and I am dreading my trip to the surgeon tomorrow see that he can look at his handy work…..maybe a beer and the garden will calm my mind…….but first…..

Personally I believe the “Ignorati” is in charge but for this post I would like to talk about the shadowy organization that some like Alex Jones believes is controlling everything we see and do…..yep I am talking about the “Illuminati”

Yep that organization that was born the same year as this country…1776……but is it really all that powerful?

If the Illuminati is real, it’s got to be the least secret secret society in the universe. It’s so bad at keeping itself hidden that its existence is proclaimed all over the internet by people whose investigative toolkit consists entirely of Google and a lively imagination.

The most recent would-be whistleblower, however, is far from your usual ex-sports commentator. Paul Hellyer, a former Canadian minister of defence, has blamed the Illuminati for suppressing technology brought to Earth by aliens that could end our reliance on fossil fuels.

Why the possessors of such fantastic kit should prefer to cash in on the extraction of still abundant oil rather than on their incredible, exclusive alternative is mysterious. But since the whole point about secret all-powerful elites is that they are mysterious, maybe that’s to be expected. Perhaps the Illuminati is like that…….

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/14/illuminati-running-world-not-mad-idea-questioning-hidden-power-elites-sane

Food for thought on this Sunday afternoon…..enjoy your day and I shall be back Monday after the doctor has his way with me…..chuq

 

Getting Old And Replaceable

One more Saturday and waiting for Spring to be sprung and that damn stupid….spring forward…..daylight savings time….the lamest idea ever!

Any way I am old….I can recall the music on the radio, then TV, then onto portable music…the 8-track and soon to be replaced by the cassette player….all the while my albums were still a source for enjoyment and then the CD was born and my vinyl lost popularity (it has since returned)….the CD killed the album and now the CD is a thing of the past…..

Bad news for the future of CDs (and, let’s face it, probably the future of CD wallets, too). Billboard reports two major CD retailers—Best Buy and Target—are reconsidering their relationship with the three-decade-old music format. Sources say Best Buy—which has gone from the “most powerful” music seller in the US to a “reduced and shoddy” selection that brings in only about $40 million a year—will stop selling CDs on July 1. Meanwhile, sources say Target—which is carrying far fewer CDs these days but still managed to move over 500,000 copies of Taylor Swift’s most recent album—wants to change to a consignment model where it wouldn’t have to pay suppliers for any CDs that go unsold. Sources say at least one major label is considering pulling its music from Target rather than agree to the new financial risk that would represent.

The changes at Best Buy and Target could speed up the CD’s demise, but they’re far from the first signs of its impending doom. USA Today reports CD sales hit $13.2 billion in 2000, and 712 million CDs were sold in 2001. In the 14 years since that peak, recorded music lost 40% of its global value, according to NPR. In 2016, streaming took over as Americans’ main means of listening to music and Kmart stopped selling CDs. In 2017, Ford manufactured its first car without a CD player in 25 years. That same year, CD sales in the US dropped 18.5%. However, while things look bleak now, CDs could always make a vinyl-like comeback a few years down the road. In fact, while Best Buy is giving up on CDs, it will reportedly continue selling vinyl records for another two years. (Speaking of: Sony is doing an about-face after helping kill vinyl.

That is all for me today……I shall enjoy my weekend as much as possible for I return to the surgeon Monday to get my check-up…..I have my fingers crossed…..chuq

Closing Thought–23Feb18

Anyone that is as old as I am will remember that famous blue dress from the Bill Clinton impeachment process.

If you are young and have no idea what I am referring to then let me help…..it seems the internet that gave our sitting president a BJ saved the dress that she wore and it had a stain of love on it…exhibit 1.

Deja vu—-all over again!

I bring this up because our present sitting president has had his accusations from women and one of them is a ex-porn star….well guess what……she saved the dress she wore when having sex with our president……

A new report claims that porn star Stormy Daniels for years has held onto a dress she wore during a sexual encounter with President Donald Trump — and now she plans to get it tested for his DNA.

Celebrity gossip site The Blast, which first broke news that Daniels planned to break her silence on her affair with Trump, now claims that the adult movie actress is in possession of a “Monica Lewinsky dress” that she will use as proof of her claims of her affair with the president.

“Sources close to Daniels tell The Blast the shimmering gold mini dress with a plunging neckline was kept in pristine condition after her alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump at the Lake Tahoe hotel suite,” the publication writes. “We’re told Daniels is planning on having the dress forensically tested to search for any DNA that proves she isn’t lying about her tryst with Trump, including samples of skin, hair or… anything.”

The article notes a potential complication with the dress, however — proving it has Trump’s DNA on it would require Trump to submit some of his own DNA so it could be compared to any DNA found in the dress.

Nonetheless, the publication writes that “any DNA that may be extracted from her dress that could possibly prove Trump was with her in the hotel room will be a big deal.”

Just when you thought it could not get any creepier….

A few days before the 2016 election, the Wall Street Journal reported that the owner of the National Enquirer paid $150,000 for a story alleging an affair between Donald Trump and a former Playboy Playmate for the express purpose of burying it. Now, Ronan Farrow of the New Yorker provides all the details, citing an eight-page letter that the Playmate, Karen McDougal, wrote to a friend. In the letter, McDougal says she began a consensual affair with Trump after meeting him at the Playboy Mansion in June 2006. “I was so nervous! I was into his intelligence + charm. Such a polite man,” wrote McDougal, who was Playmate of the Year in 1998. “We talked for a couple hours – then, it was ‘ON’! We got naked + had sex.” This was about two years after Trump’s marriage to Melania, when their son, Barron, was a few months old.

McDougal’s letter says she ended the affair after nine months, but prior to that had gone “to see him every time he was in LA (which was a lot).” Trump was careful: “No paper trails for him. In fact, every time I flew to meet him, I booked/paid for flight + hotel + he reimbursed me.” The story alleges Trump carried on multiple affairs, including with adult-film star Stormy Daniels, at the same time. McDougal writes that Trump introduced her to members of his family and once pointed out Melania’s bedroom in Trump Tower, saying “she liked her space, to read or be alone.” McDougal confirmed to Farrow that the letter is in her handwriting and says she regrets accepting the $150,000 payment—of which she got $82,500 after three men who brokered the deal got their cut. She hopes speaking out will make other women think twice before signing similar deals. Read the full story.

Interesting to see how the country has changed from the 1990’s til now…..

Time to go on and start the weekend…..TTFN……chuq

Arming Teachers?

Let’s see one idea floated by the NRA or was it Trump or who the Hell was it?  Is to arm teachers…in other words put guns in classrooms…..what moron thinks this is a good idea?

President Trump has proposed a pay rise for teachers—armed ones, that is. The president said Thursday that arming teachers would make schools “hardened targets,” and teachers who undergo weapons training and carry guns should get a bonus, CNN reports. “These people are cowards. They’re not going to walk into a school if 20% of the teachers have guns—it may be 10% or may be 40%. And what I’d recommend doing is the people that do carry, we give them a bonus. We give them a little bit of a bonus,” he said. The president slammed gun-free zones, saying they were like “ice cream” to killers. “They see that as such a beautiful target,” he said. “They live for gun-free zones.” More:

  • Teachers’ union responds. American Federation of Teachers chief Randi Weingarten said union members aren’t interested in Trump’s proposal. “Teachers don’t want to be armed,” he said. “We want to teach. We don’t want to be, and would never have the expertise needed to be, sharp shooters; no amount of training can prepare an armed teacher to go up against an AR-15.”
  • NRA “reeled Trump back in.” Democrats accused Trump of parroting the ideas of the gun lobby, the New York Times reports. “Not surprised the NRA reeled President Trump back in,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. “Just amazed at how fast it happened.” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said: “No police officer, no educator of any note is advocating that what we need is more weapons on school campuses rather than fewer.”
  • Shooter drills are “very negative.” The president said school shooting drills were tough on kids and they’re not something he wants to talk to his son about. “Active shooter drills is a very negative thing, I’ll be honest with you,” he said. “I think that’s a very negative thing to be talking about.” The Hill reports that White House spokesman Raj Shah later said Trump sees active shooter drills as a “bad brand” and thinks they should have a less frightening name, like “safety drills.”
  • Bucking the NRA. Trump’s critics accuse him of being too cozy with the NRA, though some of his proposed policies put him directly at odds with the group, the AP reports. The president says he supports banning people under 21 from buying semi-automatic weapons, and he believes the NRA will eventually support the plan. “Congress is in a mood to finally do something on this issue – I hope!” he tweeted Thursday.
  • Listening phase. Aides say Trump, who met with attorneys general Thursday as well as state leaders, is still in the “listening phase” amid calls for action after the Parkland shooting, the Washington Post reports. The White House says, however, says proposals to ban semi-automatic rifles like the AR-15 are not being considered.
  • “Fake News.” Trump returned to an old theme Thursday following a Fox report on CNN’s emotional town hall meeting in Florida Wednesday night, where Sen. Marco Rubio and an NRA spokeswoman were jeered by a crowd that included school shooting survivors. “School shooting survivor says he quit @CNN Town Hall after refusing scripted question,” Trump tweeted. “Just like so much of CNN, Fake News. That’s why their ratings are so bad! MSNBC may be worse.”
  • “One of the greatest people I have ever known.” The AP reports that a funeral was held Thursday for Aaron Feis, the football coach killed while shielding students during the Parkland shooting. Joe LaGuardia, who went to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School with Feis, called him “one of the greatest people I have ever known.”

(Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel says he was “devastated” to discover that the armed resource officer assigned to the school stayed outside instead of trying to stop the shooter.)

I was trying to put this in words that were not filled with expletives…was having a hard time at that attempt….and then I read a good op-ed on this very subject…..

After the most recent school shooting, this time at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where a 19-year old gunman was charged with killing 17 people, debate flows freely, yet again, on how to best prevent these tragedies from ever happening. Anyone with a heart can surely agree this is the overall goal. The morning after the shooting, NC State Representative Larry Pittman (R-Cabarrus County) stated that he wants to work with police to train and allow teachers to carry guns in attempt to limit the death and destruction caused during a school shooting.

“We have to get over this useless hysteria about guns and allow school personnel to have a chance to defend their lives and those of their students,” Pittman said during a meeting of the Joint Legislative Emergency Management Oversight Committee, as reported by the News & Observer.

https://www.charlottefive.com/arming-teachers/

Well said…..you would be asking teachers to do more than teach….we would be asking our teachers to become armed body guards….they do not teach that course at university and how much more in their paychecks to do so?

In short a lame ass idea.

The Final Countdown!

I wish I were speaking of some rock song from the 80’s….that would be great….the song sucked but to talk about it would be great….because come 23 April net neutrality will end.

The Federal Communications Commission has ordered net neutrality to end on April 23, the agency formally announced Thursday in the Federal Register.

The commission voted 3-2 in December to overturn Obama-era rules preventing internet service providers, or ISPs, from treating certain content differently. The change will allow ISPs to block, slow down, or charge more for certain content as they see fit. That means consumers could notice a difference in how they experience sites like Netflix and Facebook, compared with websites of smaller companies.

The FCC adopted rules to preserve net neutrality in February 2015. Overturning them means the government will stop regulating internet service as a utility, like phone service.

The commission said in the Federal Register that it considers its decision a return “to the light-touch regulatory scheme that enabled the internet to develop and thrive for nearly two decades.”

(HuffPo)

Many of us bloggers fought ans supported for neutrality and yet this president decided that his buddies in big business were important than the rest of America….but that should not surprise you he has never put the American people first.

There is one glimmer of hope though……

Congress now has 60 legislative working days to reverse the FCC decision under the Congressional Review Act. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said in December he would work with 43 mostly Democratic senators on the effort, which is considered a long shot.

“Without strong net neutrality rules, entrepreneurs, inventors, small businesses, activists and all those who rely on a free and open internet will be at the mercy of big broadband companies that can block websites, slow down traffic and charge websites fees in order to increase their profits,” Markey said in a statement following the FCC vote.

Alternatively, elected officials could re-establish net neutrality through legislation at the state or federal level. State attorneys general and other groups may challenge the order in court. Some, including New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, have already announced plans to do so.

(HuffPo)

Like I said a glimmer….I am not holding my breath and neither should you.

Another Unnecessary War?

Most of us know about the wars in the Middle East….Syria, Iraq, and other regions….it has been all out war.  During all this military action Israel has been attacking Syria under the radar, as they say.

Most of my readers know that Israel has been blaming Iran for everything that happens in the Middle East….well silently Israel has been eyeing Hezbollah as their next all out war…..yet again.

The writing is already on the wall: Israel will soon launch a military operation in Lebanon. Not a targeted attack on a weapons convoy or factory, but a simultaneous attack on Hezbollah’s missile production and launch sites. The operation will take place at the same time as, or immediately after, a series of assassinations of known Hezbollah operatives. That organization will, of course, react by launching a massive missile barrage at population centers in Israel, and Hamas may contribute its share in the south. Last week we were informed that missile interceptor systems have already been deployed throughout the country as part of a joint “drill” between the IDF and the U.S. military. Washington has already given a green light, or so we learn from Thomas Friedman’s most recent column — a faithful mouthpiece of American foreign policy.

http://lobelog.com/another-unnecessary-war/

This is a war that is slowly coming to a boil……and Trump has added a little more fuel with his latest nod toward Hezbollah…..yet another conflict that US troops will be tasked to fight….if for NO other reeason than to protect Israel from non-existent foes.

Watch Lebanon!

Closing Thought–22Feb18

Pres. Trump has not had much luck with his cabinet…..some have resigned because they were monetary issues…..other resign because they were basically spending taxpayer money on themselves and their families…..one guy must fly first class because the unwashed masses tries to talk to them……

Some things are not just Trump’s group…..I have a problem with reps and/or cabinet members that take their wives and family on business trips on the taxpayer dime…..and then the are those that take gifts while in office…..

This report covers both situations paid vacation for family and gifts…….

Yet another Trump administration official is facing ethics questions after an inspector general’s report found that Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin improperly accepted Wimbledon tickets, and that his chief of staff misled officials about Shulkin’s wife’s travel to Europe last summer.

The inspector general’s findings, released Wednesday, revealed that Shulkin’s trip to London and Copenhagen in July — which included Shulkin’s wife, three VA staffers, and six members of the secretary’s security detail — involved “personal time for sightseeing and other unofficial activities” such as a visit to Westminster Abbey and not one, but two river cruises on the Thames and the Nyhavn Canal in Copenhagen.

Shulkin justified the travel as in support of the VA’s mission. But the report documented only three and a half days of meetings and other official events during a nine-day trip that cost at least $122,334. According to the report, Shulkin’s chief of staff Vivieca Wright Simpson doctored an email to create the justification for the VA to subsidize travel for Shulkin’s wife, Merle Bari, whose flight cost $4,300. (Simpson resigned Friday in the wake of the scandal.)

https://www.vox.com/2018/2/14/17013046/david-shulkin-veteran-affairs-euro-trip-scandal-travel-trump

It is not the taxpayers duty to give these people a fancy vacation and they should be aware enough to kno that taking gifts is a “kick back”……..

My day is done….time to relax and enjoy some time away from the PC……chuq

10 And Counting!

I just got in my  comments from WP……does not pat me on the back for my 2 years with another platform……Damn!  No wonder my fingers are tired.

10 Year Anniversary Achievement

Happy Anniversary with WordPress.com!
You registered on WordPress.com 10 years ago.
Thanks for flying with us.
Keep up the good blogging.
I have met great people and I hope I can get at least ten more…..thanx everyone for without your support I would not have made it this far.

Niger Update

Back  in October of 2017 4 US Special Ops troopers died in the West African country of Niger….

https://lobotero.com/2017/10/30/niger-wtf/

There has been much confusion on what happened to the operation that cost 4 Americans their lives…..I have been asking for an explanation for my readers to no avail…..however a news story has been released….

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Saturday that the Pentagon investigation of the Niger ambush in which four U.S. troops were killed is close to being wrapped up, but that was before The New York Times published a detailed and damning report based partly on a video of the firefight.

On his plane back to the U.S. following a week-long trip to Europe, Mattis told reporters traveling with him that Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the AfriCom commander, has an unspecified timeline for completing his review of the draft of the Article 15-6 fact-finding investigation.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/02/19/command-failures-led-niger-ambush-explosive-report-shows.html

Now there is still the death of an American Green Beret in Mali that needs to be explained because 2 Navy SEALs have been accused of killing the Green Beret.

I realize that it is not a pretty picture of the heroes of “Zero Dark Thirty” but the American people have a right to know that our special ops in Africa is in disarray….and that disarray could get more Americans killed.