Monday, August 15, 2016

"To the VIKTOR goes the spoils."

Roman Empire. Caesar, I think. To that understanding Rome became very wealthy and Ceasar stole Egypt's Queen to live in Rome on her own island.

The Roman Empire was also known for putting their soldiers, "On the dole." 

Before Donald Trump actually makes statements that belong to an empire that began in 27 BC, he should realize modern civilization confronts war differently. Today, when there is war it is suppose to defend a country's sovereignty. In the 20th and 21st centuries the country winning the war PAYS for reparations to rebuild the country losing the war to support the people. 

It is called "The Geneva Conventions." (click here)

The Geneva Conventions is longer than three pages, so Republicans may be at a disadvantage in knowing how exactly they should conduct themselves with the military power of the USA.

Not forgiven either. The damage done to the USA reputation since the Iraq invasion has yet to turn around. Anyone doubt that? Ask the Libyans who they trust and why their peace is not established yet.

I said to myself, "Self, why is it that Milwaukee is so upset?" Yep.

All Americans see from their living room's easy chair is a bunch of black people (probably most with rap sheets) making a fuss over police simply trying to their jobs.

RIGHT?

Just say yes, because I already now how insulated those passing judgement on people legitimately upset exist and are in their easy chair for a reason. THEY DON'T HAVE THESE PROBLEMS IN THEIR TOWNS.

Black men are being killed. IT MUST STOP!!!!!!

End of discussion.

January 4th, 2015
By Steven Elbow

Above photo: Dontre Hamilton’s mother, (click here) Maria Hamilton participates in a protest Monday, Dec. 22, 2014, in Milwaukee. Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm announced earlier in the day that there would be no charges against former police office Christopher Manney in the fatal shooting of Dontre Hamilton. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Has Milwaukee out-Fergusoned Ferguson?

Writing in Slate, Michael Carriere argues that the real story isn’t that former Milwaukee police officer Christopher Manney won’t face charges in the April 2014 shooting death of Dontre Hamilton. It’s the Milwaukee Police Department’s decades-long history of brutality against African Americans.
And, Carriere writes, the Hamilton case might very well expose a police culture that is more egregious than the one that led to national protests over the Aug. 9 police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
“While the Hamilton case has not received as much media attention as the Michael Brown shooting, it may very well out-Ferguson Ferguson,” Carriere writes.
Hamilton’s case is only the latest in a string of incidents of Milwaukee Police Department brutality against African Americans stretching back decades, he writes....

Fourteen year olds are suppose to be in schools preparing to contribute to the greatness of their country in peace.

The USA did create Daesh and I am confident Hezbollah is not happy about it. Daesh is the old Ba'athists. Hezbollah didn't have much use for them either.

Wiki: The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party (also spelled Ba'th or Baath, "resurrection" or "renaissance"; Arabic: حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي‎‎ Hizb Al-Ba'ath Al-'Arabi Al-Ishtiraki), also referred to as the pro-Iraqi Ba'ath movement, was [dubious  discuss] a neo-Ba'athist political party headquartered in Baghdad, Iraq.

Imagine that, Saddam led a bunch of socialists. The Ba'athist of today called Daesh sure don't act like socialists.

This is from Reuters: This is not Earth shaking stuff. These groups have been around for a long time. What brings instability is the dissemination of authority to THESE LEVELS of organization. When groups have authority, there is no controlling the outcome.

December 11, 2015
By Isabel Coles and Ned Parker

...He is 14. (click here)

The teenager is one cog in the intelligence network Islamic State has put in place since it seized vast stretches of Iraq and neighbouring Syria. Informers range from children to battle-hardened fighters. Overseeing the network are former army and intelligence officers, many of whom helped keep former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party in power for years.

Saddam-era officers have been a powerful factor in the rise of Islamic State, in particular in the Sunni militant group’s victories in Iraq last year. Islamic State then out-muscled the Sunni-dominated Baath Party and absorbed thousands of its followers. The new recruits joined Saddam-era officers who already held key posts in Islamic State....

Why the carnage? Because 14 year olds work for Daesh. Will any military opposing Daesh allow 14 year olds a chance to report to Daesh?

There is no trust. Anywhere. That is why a power sharing government would bring more stability to Syria. If the partners have control of their military and can uphold a cease fire, the next step is a power sharing government that would end the carnage and distrust.

I don't understand why the Syrian military continue to use barrel bombs and still attack hospitals. The Syrian forces are creating an international understanding of their carnage and not their ability for restraint.
I hope Secretary Clinton is ready for the debates. I remember President Obama's first debate with then billionaire, offshore, put American workers out of work Romney. Obama thought he could ace the debate with one hand tied behind his back.

NOT!

Secretary Clinton should prepare for her debates.

August 15, 2016
By Clare Malone

...A spot of polling news out Monday (click here) will satisfy those who have been champing at the bit to know, amidst this hazy August sea of vacation and relaxation, exactly what polls the Commission on Presidential Debates will use to decide who makes the cut for this fall’s televised verbal sparring matches.
The pollsters that will determine who gets to be on stage come September and October are ABC News/Washington Post, CBS News/New York Times, CNN, Fox News and NBC News/Wall Street Journal. Seems about right, given that these outfits are well respected, the fab five of polling, if you will (and I will). All get solid grades in our pollster ratings. (In order to make the cut, the commission has stipulated that candidates must be polling at 15 percent.)

What’s interesting, though, is that these polls all tend to show Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein doing a tad better than in polls not being used by the commission....

All clergy, religious leaders and spiritual advisers need to be careful of their movements. This is tragic and should never be repeated.

August 15, 2016
By Thomas Tracy, John Annese, Ellen Moynihan, Ross Keith, Rocco Parascandola and Stephen Rex Brown

As a point of order, I think in this case "Maulama" or "Mawlama" is a title and not a first name.

The killer (click here) who crept up behind an imam and his friend near a Queens mosque and shot both men in the head may have been settling a score in a feud between Muslims and Hispanics, police sources said early Monday.

I find it very odd a leader of a Mosque would be involved with gang warfare.

And he may have left behind another victim who unwittingly held the clue that solved the crime, the sources said.
The suspected killer was taken into custody Sunday night but had not been charged or identified, according to the sources. Police officials would not confirm whether a suspect was nabbed.
Video of the horrific Saturday afternoon murders of mosque leader Maulama Akonjee, 55, and Thara Uddin, 65, at Liberty Ave. and 79th St. in Ozone Park showed the brazen crime to be a planned execution....
Morning Papers

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

Mr. Manafort needs to consult with an attorney, if he hasn't done so already, and offer to turn state's witness to the FBI in regard to the hacking of Democratic e-mails. He is too involved to believe he won't be facing charges in regard to this manner. Even if this was an unsolicited friend, there is concern.

This has no reflection on his abilities as a campaign manager, quite the contrary. But, he was involved with the Yanukovych regime in Ukraine.

Mr. Manafort is completely compromised in issues of conflict of interest. The hacking into the DNC emails was obviously someone connected with Viktor.

It may or may not be the Russian government, but, it definitely was linked to Viktor with or without his knowledge. The foreign policy of Donald Trump with Russia and Ukraine is completely violated and compromised. Mr. Manafort needs to resign and speak openly to the FBI on the condition there will be no prosecution of him.

August 14, 2016
By Andrew C. Cramer, Mike McIntire and Barry Meier

...Mr. Manafort’s involvement (click here) with moneyed interests in Russia and Ukraine had previously come to light. But as American relationships there become a rising issue in the presidential campaign — from Mr. Trump’s favorable statements about Mr. Putin and his annexation of Crimea to the suspected Russian hacking of Democrats’ emails — an examination of Mr. Manafort’s activities offers new details of how he mixed politics and business out of public view and benefited from powerful interests now under scrutiny by the new government in Kiev.

Anti-corruption officials there say the payments earmarked for Mr. Manafort, previously unreported, are a focus of their investigation, though they have yet to determine if he actually received the cash. While Mr. Manafort is not a target in the separate inquiry of offshore activities, prosecutors say he must have realized the implications of his financial dealings.

“He understood what was happening in Ukraine,” said Vitaliy Kasko, a former senior official with the general prosecutor’s office in Kiev. “It would have to be clear to any reasonable person that the Yanukovych clan, when it came to power, was engaged in corruption.”

Mr. Kasko added, “It’s impossible to imagine a person would look at this and think, ‘Everything is all right.’”...

It would be a perfect opportunity for a new President to re-evaluate the USA policy with Ukraine and favor Russia over the Kiev government. The relationships Mr. Manafort fostered in Ukraine is legitimately his to conduct, but, to have such an event brings about questions as the meddling of a foreign interest in USA elections. It can't stand. Sorry. I thought Mr. Manaford was doing a wonderful job actually, 

I am sure the Trump campaign feels somewhat compromised at this point. They can recuperate. As a matter of fact, this gives them an opportunity to begin again.

"Good Night, Moon"

Waxing gibbous

11.5 days old

88.1 percent lit

Property values near or on lakes all over the state of Michigan will be negatively impacted by fracking. The property values will fall into question when the mineral rights have been sold to the petroleum industry. Who wants to take the chance of having a fracking well leak deadly chemicals, oil and methane into the lake? That is true across the USA.

August 14, 2016
By Dennis Mammana


...During dusk (click here) — if you have a low horizon to the west — cast your gaze in that direction. There, you’ll find the bright planet Venus, and just above it will appear the fainter worlds Jupiter and Mercury. Follow the approximate arc of these three worlds toward the east, and when you reach the southern sky, you’ll encounter the red planet Mars, along with Saturn.

You may notice that the moon also travels close to this path as it swings through our evening sky this week. This should not surprise you, for it, too, is part of our solar system and travels along roughly the same path. I say roughly because the moon’s orbit is actually tipped by about five degrees to the plane of the ecliptic, so it does appear to stray slightly above or below it. And that’s why we don’t experience eclipses every time there is a new or full moon.

If you’re out on Sunday night, Aug. 14, you’ll notice that the moon lies east of Mars and Saturn, and it will drift increasingly farther to the east as the week goes on. By Wednesday night, Aug. 17, the moon will have reached its full phase and will rise in the east at sunset. The arc of the ecliptic will then stretch completely across the heavens.....