Thursday, January 24, 2013

The USA Senate Filibuster will cause the death of children in gun violence over the next two years. No doubt in my mind. They all ought to be ashamed of themselves.

What did McConnell threaten Reid with to cause his retreat? Must have been a whopper. 

McConnell has to go!

Every time McConnell calls on the voiceless filibuster in the USA Senate a new commercial needs to go out by his Democratic opponent for the election of 2014. It would be a very good, honest and effective campaign strategy. McConnell has huge ethical problems in his abuse of the filibuster.

Murdoch's O'Reilly is drumming up racial hate.

This happened back in May and O'Reilly is seeking to raise racism now? Pro Gun Zealots. What's her name, you know Murdoch's mouth piece, was on air stating the problem with guns in the USA belongs to black people. This is a strategy, not journalism. It is a political strategy.

I do believe for all the false reporting this evening, it can be considered fraud. 

So, let me get this right. Murdoch tweets to get the gun violence under control in the USA. Which makes sense. Australia has effective guns laws, right? But, this is where it gets to be sincerely strange. Murdoch is tweeting that the gun violence in the USA is out of control, while his media service is 'running game' on the American public to defeat the very efforts he advocates. And I am suppose to believe the tweets are actually sincere rather than 'cover' for the network. You can do better than that Rupert.

FOX's license needs to be reviewed, they are not a legitimate media service, they are propagandists and power brokers. It has never been more obvious.

While I am on the subject and power brokers, who paid enough or did favors for Henry to become the president of the White House press corp? For what I can discern Henry does considerable amount of counseling with journalists outside of Murdoch's media, especially young ones.

3 more teens charged in beating of Pilot journalists (click here)

By Jon Davenport
Mike Connors
The Virginian-Pilot
© 

NORFOLK
Three more teenage males have been arrested in connection with an attack on two Virginian-Pilot reporters last month, bringing the total number of people charged in connection with the assault to four.
Two 16-year-olds and one 13-year-old were arrested Saturday and charged with two counts of simple assault by mob and one count of participation in a riot, both misdemeanors, a Norfolk Police news release said Sunday.
A 16-year-old male was arrested May 3 and charged with throwing a missile at a vehicle, a felony, as well as destruction of property, participation in a riot, and two counts of simple assault by mob, all misdemeanors.
The three teens arrested Saturday, whose names were not released because of their ages, were released to their guardians. They are scheduled to appear for an arraignment hearing in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court today, the release said....

Gee, maybe the Virginian-Pilot actually knows it's boundaries when it comes to dealing with minors. Something O'Reilly and Murdoch can't seem to appreciate. What was O'Reilly saying, "The police are not doing their job?" Doesn't appear to be the case. That was not the case in May of 2012. Deranged journalism is what they practice at FOX. Man, you talk about desperate. So much for morals. Not even mention ethics.

There are more gun deaths in the USA than car deaths.

This graph came from Wikipedia. It shows the frequency of motor vehicle accidents in the USA up to 2010.

The statistic states clearly there is one death per 10,000 people per year. In a  nation of 300 million, as of 2010 the number of car deaths per year is 30,000.

Below is an article written in comparison of Australian laws and the results there and the USA. The article, if put into context with the graph, the death rate would be up to 2006 and have a far higher death rate.


There Are 32,000+ Gun Deaths A Year in the U.S. — Here is How We Get That Number to Zero (click here)


...The average annual number of handgun deaths in the 5-year period before the legislation was put in place in Australia was only a little over 500. In the United States, the total number of hand gun deaths (1980-2006) is more than 32,000 per year. Firearms are involved in 68% of homicides, 52% of suicides, 43% of robberies, and 21% of aggravated assaults. With 60 times the number of deaths (and a similar number of families devastated) time will tell if the American people and politicians have the will to overcome the powerful lobbies of gun owners and manufacturers that have created the current gun climate and will resist change violently....

What I find most interesting about the article besides its problem solving, is the recognition gun deaths includes more than just homicides. All too often, the NRA and Pro Gun Zealots leave out the real devastation in society. Guns are also ASSISTANTS in crime without resulting in a death. So, the IMPACT of guns on society goes far beyond homicides; it contributes to the CONFIDENCE of those committing crime.

Ford, Carter, Reagan Push for Gun Ban (click here)

May 05, 1994, WILLIAM J. EATON | TIMES STAFF WRITER

WASHINGTON — Three former presidents endorsed legislation Wednesday to ban the future manufacture, sale and possession of combat-style assault weapons as a closely divided House neared a showdown today on the hotly controversial issue.

Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan sent a letter to all House members expressing their support for the measure, effectively joining President Clinton in urging approval of the ban....


- Require background checks for all gun sales
- Strengthen the background check system for gun sales
- Pass a new, stronger ban on assault weapons
- Limit ammunition magazines on 10 rounds
- Finish the job of getting armor piercing bullets off the streets
- Give law enforcement additional tools to prevent and prosecute gun crime
- End the freeze on gun violence research
- Make our schools safer with new resource officers and counselors, better emergency response plans and neutering school climates
- Ensure quality coverage of mental health treatment, particularly for young people

That is fine, but, it isn't enough. What exactly is a new, stronger ban? We need the Assault Weapons Ban including modifications made to semi-automatic weapons. Hollow tip bullets are also inappropriate for protecting a home. 


What makes anyone believe the threat to our society is not real enough to move into a ban with the death count moving to 1200 Americans since the Sandy Hook School Massacre? (click here) Something about that idea unjustified? 

Looking to what was successful in the past is a beginning, but, there are many aspects of the gun industry which is inappropriate for personal protection. The idea any legislator can't understand what is important rather than populous is offensive. They need to do their jobs.

Passing a bill to simply pass a bill is not appropriate. It needs to be effective. Research over time can help remove constraints in the market place, but, at this point it is inappropriate to postpone effectiveness. The only research any legislator needs to understand today, is the actual body count occurring; it is research enough. I am sorry this is so difficult politically, but, there are lives on the line. It isn't the legislators fault there are high numbers of death everyday, it is however, their responsibility now.

When the Congress and President asked Americans to 'Fly Safe' after the attacks of September 11, 2001 by limiting all kinds of objects in their carry on luggage, it was never an issue. Inconvenient? Sure. An assault on privacy and rights? Absolutely, but, it was carried out anyway. Over time those restrictions were lifted when proven not to be a threat. What is so different about this?

The Future is closer than it appears.


...The LG Chem's cable battery prototype is described in Advanced Materials journal and comes less than a month after the USABC (United States Advanced-Battery Consortium)—an organization whose members are Chrysler Group, Ford Motor Company, and General Motors—awarded a $9.62 million advanced battery technology development contract to LGCPI (LG Chem Power) in Troy, Mich.

The competitively bid contract award is co-funded by the U.S. DOE (Department of Energy) and includes a 50% cost share by LGCPI. USABC awarded the contract to develop a self-contained, thermally-managed, lithium-ion battery pack system for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle PHEV applications....

...“We are pleased to announce the award of this contract to LG Chem Power Inc. as part of USABC’s broad battery technology research and development programs,” said Steve Zimmer, executive director of USCAR. “These programs are essential to advancing both near- and long-term goals that will enable a broad spectrum of vehicle electrification and make electrified vehicles increasingly affordable.”...

Below is battery technology in application for hybrid conversation, but, above is the burgeoning of an electric car industry. I and many others have stated over and over again, "When the technology is finally in production and use within a consumer base, the future is much brighter." Let it be noted, we are on our way to zero carbon emissions for all consumers.

The truth is simple. We perfect what we use and ignore what doesn't seem to exist. That is true with wind and solar energy systems. We need to get on with this.

Jan. 23, 2013
INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- Echo Automotive, Inc. (OTCQB:ECAU) ("Echo Automotive" or the "Company"), a developer of technologies enabling the cost-effective conversion of existing fleet vehicles into fuel efficient hybrids, is pleased to announce the launch of its latest product offering, a multi-mode hybrid technology aimed directly at significantly improving the economic performance of fleet operations.
The Company, in its first public display, today demonstrated its proprietary hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) technology under the EchoDrive(TM) brand, along with revealing a notable shift in hybrid philosophy with the introduction of multi-power source selection capability via the implementation of a high capacity BEV mode (Battery Electric Vehicle) system option.
EchoDrive(TM) was conceived and developed as a bolt-on, easy-install system to convert traditional fleet vehicles to hybrid operation, with a design mandate to provide a quick return on investment through considered, attainable cost-saving performance in a practical package aimed at a broad-based critical market desperately in need of sustainable cost-saving solutions....

Now, about the cost of health care...

Jan 22 (2013)
14:01 PM

...Earlier this month, (click here) Dr. Alphonso Berry and two criminal colleagues—a married couple named Marcus and Beth Jenkins—pled guilty to defrauding the government by submitting more than $13.2 million worth of phony claims to Medicare over a seven-year period for group and individual psychotherapy sessions that were never provided.
 
How the scam operated. In 2004, Marcus and Beth Jenkins incorporated Quality Recreation and Rehabilitation (QRR), an adult day care center that claimed to provide psychotherapy services. At the same time, they also operated adult foster care homes in the Detroit area that provided 24-hour personal care, protection, and supervision for individuals who were—for the most part—mentally or physically disabled. The couple obtained Medicare provider numbers for QRR and clinicians working on staff, including Dr. Alphonso Berry.
 
For four years, the Jenkinses transported Medicare beneficiaries residing at adult foster care homes (both theirs and others) to QRR, and in concert with Dr. Berry—who often signed patient progress charts and progress notes for individual and group psychotherapy sessions—submitted claims to Medicare for psychotherapy services for these beneficiaries that were never provided. The funds received from Medicare—approximately $1.8 million—were diverted from QRR’s bank accounts into the hands of the Jenkinses and Dr. Berry....

The burgeoning leadership of Israel.

Yair was born a few weeks before his father was posted to London in January 1964 Photo: Reuters

By , Jerusalem
6:56PM GMT 23 Jan 2013


...His diplomatic agenda, (click here) unveiled recently in the West Bank settlement of Ariel, calls for negotiations with the Palestinians but rejects the right of return for Palestinian refugees. It also declares that Jerusalem will remain Israel's undivided capital.
"We must not lose the State of Israel's Jewish majority. ... Without an agreement [with the Palestinians], Israel's Jewish and Zionist identity is in danger," Mr Lapid said on Tuesday.

Israeli pilots' favor for Lapid may just be a vote against attacking Iran (click here)

By Aluf Benn
12:38 24.01.13

Most voters at air force-base polling stations preferred Lapid over Netanyahu. Is this because they are more moderate, or because of the implication of the premier's threats against the Islamic Republic?

By  | 12:38 24.01.13
During this past term in office, Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu evinced great affection for the Israeli Air Force. He enjoyed being photographed with planes and pilots and posted a picture of himself on Facebook with the women of an aircrew in flight overalls....


Israel’s land theft means Gaza camels have few places to graze (click here)

Rami Almeghari; The Electronic Intifada; Gaza Strip; 23 January 2013
Surrounded by camel owners in al-Mosadar village in the central Gaza Strip, Talal al-Talbani cheerfully described what an effective remedy he found camel’s milk to be in helping his 14-year-old son Hamza recover from a surgery on his spinal cord several years ago.
“His immunity got better when I started giving him camel’s milk,” al-Talbani said. “In 2006, I accompanied my son to the Tel Hashomer hospital inside Israel,” he explained.
“In the months that followed the surgery, we had to take precautions as my son’s condition was unstable.” al-Talbani decided to follow local advice and feed camel’s milk to his son: “We went back to the same hospital and found that Hamza’s immunity had doubled.”...

Oh, it is Obama. No wonder it is an issue in the first place.

If Beyonce states she sang, then she sang. The distance between the band director and the platform she performed is significant enough.

The nation owes her and the band director an apology. They are only guilty of seeking to have a flawless program. We loved it. President Obama was honored with a magnificent performance of the Star-Spangled Banner. It was perfect and I thank them.

Slate: (click here)
I'm hoping for a flurry of retractions. A Marine spokesperson said yesterday that she couldn't confirm or deny that Beyoncé wasn't lip-syncing, and pretty much every media outlet assumed that was an admission. On NBC Nightly News, Brian Williams said that Beyoncé wasn’t lip-syncing, but, “in effect, lip-syncing”; Jon Stewart's jokes took it as a given that she faked it; NPR is wringing its hands NPR-ily.
Police used teargas to drive back protesters following an attempt by the Occupy supporters to shut down the city of Oakland. Photograph: Noah Berger/AP


  • guardian.co.uk, 

It was more sophisticated (click here) than we had imagined: new documents show that the violent crackdown on Occupy last fall – so mystifying at the time – was not just coordinated at the level of the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and local police. The crackdown, which involved, as you may recall, violent arrests, group disruption, canister missiles to the skulls of protesters, people held in handcuffs so tight they were injured, people held in bondage till they were forced to wet or soil themselves –was coordinated with the big banks themselves....

The document – reproduced here in an easily searchable format – shows a terrifying network of coordinated DHS, FBI, police, regional fusion center, and private-sector activity so completely merged into one another that the monstrous whole is, in fact, one entity: in some cases, bearing a single name, the Domestic Security Alliance Council. And it reveals this merged entity to have one centrally planned, locally executed mission. The documents, in short, show the cops and DHS working for and with banks to target, arrest, and politically disable peaceful American citizens....

I think this brings a great deal of brevity to the suicide of Aaron Swartz. The Plutocrats. The surveillance and litigatory pressure of an honest American whom legally obtained documents from a university service is more than worrisome.

FBI Documents Reveal Secret Nationwide Occupy Monitoring (click here)

See the released documents here

December 22, 2012

 ...“These documents show that the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are treating protests against the corporate and banking structure of America as potential criminal and terrorist activity.  These documents also show these federal agencies functioning as a de facto intelligence arm of Wall Street and Corporate America.”
“The documents are heavily redacted, and it is clear from the production that the FBI is withholding far more material. We are filing an appeal challenging this response and demanding full disclosure to the public of the records of this operation,” stated Heather Benno, staff attorney with the PCJF....