Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/23/2014 20:55 Comments ||
Top||
#13
Given enough money and enough phoney information, some components of our society will vote for anyone of the same ethnic group no matter how toxic.
Microsoft has enlisted a series of "crime-fighting" robots, called K5 androids, to patrol the company's Silicon Valley campus. Standing at five-feet tall and weighing 300-pounds, fitted with an impressive suite of alarms, high-definition cameras, microphones, heat detectors and laser scanners that allow the machines to assess any potential dangers. The K5 android also has Wi-Fi capabilities, weather sensors, speakers and GPS. In the event they do encounter trouble, the robots will flag up the incident by sounding an alarm and signaling back to the command center.
The robots guard a predefined perimeter, and are capable of navigating an ever-changing environment, avoiding human beings and other potential obstacles. The K5s can operate for up to 24 hours on a single charge. Once the battery runs dry, the machines automatically return to base for a recharge, which typically only takes around 20 minutes. Go to the original article to see pictures. They need to add a plunger for an arm, and for them to say "EX-TER-MI-NATE" repeatedly
A shrill, backstage brawl at “The View” Wednesday left co-host Rosie Perez in tears while panelists Whoopi Goldberg and Rosie O’Donnell battled over how to cover the latest allegations against Bill Cosby and the racially charged upheaval in Ferguson, Mo., sources said.
O’Donnell believed the show — now overseen by ABC News — needed to delve deeper into both controversial subjects, while Goldberg wanted to steer clear of the topics altogether. Ultimately, both news stories were discussed at length on the air by the panel.
“There’s terrible frustration and there are problems,” a source close to the show told the Daily News. “Whoopi didn’t want to talk about Cosby and Ferguson, Rosie (O’Donnell) did — how could you not? These are topics that are uncomfortable for everyone, but it’s ‘The View’ and it’s their job to talk about topics that might make some people tense.”
That tension boiled over in a meeting before the show to plan the day’s “Hot Topics” segment.
“Rosie (O’Donnell) was yelling at everyone. First, she had a fight with Whoopi and then she had a fight with the producers,” a “View” staffer said. But at least two show sources claim that while she’s “frustrated” at times with the show and its producers, O’Donnell has not raised her voice or “yelled at anyone for at least a month.”
One staffer said, “These are just two very smart women (Goldberg and O’Donnell) who insist that they need to be able to talk freely about topics that are meaningful.”
After the meeting, a teary-eyed Perez was consoled by producers — but sources said that the film star has also been drawing her own share of internal criticism and may be feeling the pressure.
Naturally, “View” officials downplayed the incident. But it’s clear that nerves are beginning to fray at “The View” this season as its ratings are down compared with last year — even after ABC spent millions drastically restructuring the show with a new panel of hosts, new producers and a new studio.
#9
It sounds as if the meetings would be much more entertaining than the show ... Then again most "reality" television sounds entertaining and then ends up insipid because it includes people like Whoppi and Rosie. They are just dummies. I would watch if they beat each other with pugil sticks as long as their mouths were ductaped shut and there were no helmets allowed. It would also be good to suspend any use of the NFL head injury protocol.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/23/2014 15:12 Comments ||
Top||
#10
As Whoopi and She-Ox in headlocks
Ignore Wallace gnawing their fetlocks,
The viewers sip hemlocks;
They oughtta see head docs
For looking for wisdom from dreadlocks.
"Aloft with ye lubberly mud ducks
To shiver and polish the futtocks!
I'd like to get cozy
With Midshipman Rosie --
'E's awfully endowed in the buttocks."
Every year, thousands of migrants risk their lives attempting to cross the Mediterranean from Africa into Europe. In Somaliland, although the region has escaped much of the conflict and chaos that plagues neighbouring Somalia, many young people are desperate to leave and find a new life elsewhere. The main reason that drives them is a lack of jobs with youth unemployment at around 80 percent.
Sucks to be part of a failed state...
52-year-old Warabee works at a livestock market in the capital, Hargeisa. His son Jiijile drowned in 2013 as he attempted the risky crossing from Libya to Italy.
"My son wanted to improve his life and build a future. Many people earn a lot of money in Europe and many of his friends were already there," he explained.
The family sold plots of land to pay smugglers to get Jiijile to Italy. Warabee says his 21-year-old son was hopeful and excited about the journey and not deterred by the horror stories of abductions, exploitation and shipwrecks that filter back. Months after his son left, Warabee received a phone call from Libya telling him his son had drowned. He says he can’t bear to talk about it.
An estimated 3,200 migrants have died attempting to cross the Mediterranean this year according to the International Organisation for Migration. The actual total will never be known, as many bodies are lost at sea.
It’s estimated that tens of thousands of foreign nationals are trapped in Libya, the main departure country for Europe. The UN’s Refugee agency UNHCR says it is deeply concerned about their safety as they are vulnerable to exploitation, kidnapping and torture as they wait for smugglers to get them on a boat.
The government in Somaliland says it is committed to lowering the rate of youth unemployment to stem the flow of young people leaving the country.
Somaliland is not officially recognised as a country, although for the last two decades it has held free elections, established a working government and its own currency, in stark contrast to its neighbour Somalia. In that time, both Eritrea and South Sudan have become countries, enabling them to access financial assistance from global institutions.
Officials in Somaliland say if they could get recognition and more trade and investment from the EU they would be able to keep their young people in their homeland instead of risking their lives to knock at Europe’s door.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/23/2014 00:00 ||
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Link ||
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HARGEISA, Somalia -- A new deal brokered by Somaliland House of Elders between ruling Kulmiye party MPs and opposition lawmakers led to the suspension of no confidence vote in parliament speaker and opposition leader on Saturday, Garowe Online reports.
But I think we all saw this coming...
During a joint press conference at Somaliland State House in the capital, Hargeisa, the Chairman of House of Elders Saleban Mohamud Adan announced that the recent political wrangles have been settled through peaceful means following lengthy mediations.
No guns? No mustache cursing? What kind of country is this?
The incumbent Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud Siilanyo who is again vying for the presidency under the ruling Kulmiye Party shook hands with Parliament speaker, the chairman of Wadani opposition party and presidential candidate Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi Iro in the presence of mediating elders.
"The no confidence motion against parliament speaker, and spearheaded by the first Deputy Speaker has been suspended and can not be re-tabled until the term expires," House of Elders Chairman said in a press statement, adding that the speaker is expected to play a neutral role in parliamentary matters.
Adan urged registered political parties to refrain from campaigns prior to the date for which the general elections are slated.
The political stand-off in Somaliland parliament came after nearly 53 MPs representing ruling Kulmiye Party lodged no confidence vote in speaker of the parliament. Somaliland, located in northwestern Somalia declared its independence from the rest of the country as de facto sovereign state in 1991 but it has not been recognized internationally yet.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/23/2014 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] In a back alley in the Moroccan capital, the small household repair shop opened by Moctar Toure since escaping conflict in his native Ivory Coast is doing a brisk business.
At the gates of Europe, Morocco has long been a transit point for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa looking to make the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean.
But tighter immigration controls and economic malaise in Europe have made the kingdom a destination in its own right for many.
Continued on Page 49
[AnNahar] FARC guerrillas who captured a Colombian general and four others will release them next week, president Juan Manuel Santos said Saturday, paving the way for a return to peace talks.
"I am giving instructions to facilitate their liberation next week," Santos said in a Twitter message, noting that the Marxist guerrillas had already provided coordinates of where the captives would be delivered.
The November 16 kidnapping of General Ruben Alzate in the remote, jungle-covered Choco region threw peace talks between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia FARC or FARC-EP, is either a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization or a drug cartel based in Colombia. It claims to represent the rural poor in a struggle against Colombia's wealthier classes, and opposes United States influence in Colombia, neo-imperialism, monopolization of natural resources by multinational corporations, and the usual raft of complaints. It funds itself principally through ransom kidnappings, taxation of the drug trade, extortion, shakedowns, and donations. It has lately begun calling itself Bolivarian and is greatly admired by Venezuela's President-for-Life Chavez, who seemingly fantasizes about living in the woods and kidnapping people himself. He provides FARC with safe areas along the border. (FARC) and the government into disarray, with Santos suspending the two-year negotiations.
The two sides have been negotiating in Cuba for an end to the 50-year conflict that has claimed more than 220,000 lives and caused more than five million to flee their homes.
Alzate was kidnapped along with a corporal and an adviser. The FARC is also holding two soldiers who were kidnapped November 9 near the Venezuela border in Arauca province.
The Red Thingy, which the government has asked to assist in the handover, said Thursday it had a "green light" to begin the transfer.
But the operation appeared to stall Friday and there was no immediate sign that military activity had been halted in either of the regions where the hostages were captured, a precondition for the handover.
Founded in 1964, the FARC is the largest of the guerrilla groups active in Colombia, with about 8,000 fighters.
In a sign the conflict is far from over, a police officer was killed and four others maimed Saturday in an attack authorities blamed on the FARC.
Suspected FARC fighters carried out a dawn offensive on the island of Gorgona off the Pacific coast, Cauca province police chief Ramiro Perez Manzano said.
Three other coppers went missing during the fighting.
General Alzate, the head of an army task force charged with fighting rebels and narcos in the Choco region, is the highest-ranking officer to be captured by the FARC in five decades of conflict.
He was taken hostage along with Corporal Jorge Rodriguez and army adviser Gloria Urrego as they traveled by boat to visit a civilian energy project in the remote western region.
FARC fighters were already holding two other soldiers captured in combat in the eastern department of Arauca, Paulo Cesar Rivera and Jonathan Diaz.
Diplomats from Cuba and Norway, two of the countries acting as guarantors of the grinding of the peace processor, announced Wednesday that a deal had been struck to free all five hostages, but gave few details.
The defense ministry says Alzate, 55, was ambushed by armed guerrillas on arrival in the village of Las Mercedes.
But questions have emerged about why he was apparently traveling in civilian clothing and without a security escort.
Local residents denied Thursday that he had been ambushed, casting further uncertainty on the incident.
Choco has been one of the regions hardest hit by the conflict and numerous rebel groups, narco gangs and illegal mining operations flourish in the hard-to-reach, densely forested department, whose population is overwhelmingly poor and black.
As Supreme Leader Xi Jinping’s anti-graft crusade penetrates the inner circles of the People’s Liberation Army, signs of internal tension and disorder among senior military leaders are becoming evident, with reliable sources reporting that a growing number of leaders have committed suicide.
On Nov. 13, Vice Admiral Ma Faxiang jumped to his demise from a 15th floor window in the PLA Navy’s Beijing headquarters. Days earlier, Maj. Gen. Song Yuwen, deputy commissar of Jilin military district, reportedly hanged himself. He was among eight flag officers who recently had been arrested on corruption charges. On September 2, Rear Admiral Jiang Zhonghua jumped to his death from a high-rise building on a naval base in Zhejiang province.
According to sources from China, more than 200 senior PLA officers are under investigation for corruption, and many are suspected of being members of a massive graft ring led by Gen. Xu Caihou, the highest uniformed officer between 2004 and 2012. Gen. Xu served as vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Military Commission, the nation’s highest military command authority. Many of these officers are under great stress, which is believed to be the primary reason for the suicides.
Apparently, the purge on corruption is not going to stop at Gen. Xu. On Thursday, Gen. Liu Yazhou, commissar of the Chinese National Defense University and a mouthpiece for Mr. Xi, issued a stern warning via the PLA Daily newspaper. He stated that “our investigation and punishment of corrupt elements such as Xu Caihou and Gu Junshan are only the beginning of our military’s anti-corruption battle of annihilation and protracted war.” The comments strongly hinted at the next target: Gen. Guo Boxiong, the other former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission.
#4
Back in the Tang dynasty, discredited imperial officials would sometimes commit suicide by shooting themselves dozens of times in the back with arrows. Only a highly skilled martial artist would know how to do that. The technique has since been lost.
[AnNahar] Russia has 7,500 troops in the east of the country, where pro-Moscow separatists have been fighting government troops for months, Ukraine's defense minister said.
"Unfortunately, the stabilization of the situation in the east of Ukraine does not depend only on us," Stepan Poltorak said in a statement posted on the ministry's website on Saturday.
"The presence of 7,500 representatives of Russian armed forces in Ukraine destabilizes the situation and prevents us from stabilizing it."
Cash-strapped Ukraine also plans to "increase the strength of the armed forces" and boost levels of arms and equipment, Poltorak added.
He pledged this would take place "in the nearest time" but did not give a more specific timeframe.
Ukraine's new coalition government declared joining NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... a priority Friday in a move which is likely to provoke fresh anger from Russia.
A reminder that old conflicts continue, even as our attention is focussed on the new one.
[Ynet] German authorities have released a woman convicted of spying for Russia and deported her after she served half of her prison sentence.
Heidrun Anschlag and her husband Andreas, known only by the fake names on the Austrian passports they used to enter Germany, were tossed in the calaboose Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! in 2011 and sentenced to 5½ and 6½ years respectively in July 2013. They were convicted of spying for Russia over more than two decades, handing over European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... and NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... documents.
For responding to a president who defies his constitutional limits, Congress is said to possess four powers: to impeach, to defund, to investigate, and to withhold confirmation of nominees.
But there is a fifth recourse, which the new Republican Congress might consider in view of President Obama's executive amnesty for illegal immigrants: the power to censure. In fact, censure could work in tandem with Congress's other powers, helping the legislature make the moral case for responding to the president's lawlessness.
Presidential censure is a rare occurrence. Most notably, in 1834, the Whig-controlled Senate censured President Andrew Jackson, a Democrat, for moving federal deposits from the Second Bank of the United States to local banks, derisively called his "pets" because most were operated by loyal Democrats.
#1
Wait for the new Congress, then have it pass a declaration that any civil service employee who carry out unconstitutional acts forfeits both job and pension. They have a choice, be out of a job for next two years cause Obean or his lackeys fire them or be permanently out of a job in two years.
#4
Famous Presidential Lies Contest
Written by, To The Point News
LBJ:
•We were attacked (in the Gulf of Tonkin)
Nixon:
•I am not a crook
GHW Bush:
•Read my lips - No New Taxes
Clinton:
•I did not have sex with that woman... Miss Lewinski
GW Bush:
•Iraq has weapons of mass destruction
(which was NOT a lie)
Champ
•I will have the most transparent administration in history.
•The stimulus will fund shovel-ready jobs.
•I am focused like a laser on creating jobs.
•The IRS is not targeting anyone.
•It was a spontaneous riot about a movie.
•I will put an end to the type of politics that "breeds division, conflict and cynicism".
•You didn't build that!
•I will restore trust in Government.
•The Cambridge cops acted stupidly.
•The public will have 5 days to look at every bill that lands on my desk
•It's not my red line - it is the world's red line.
•Whistle blowers will be protected in my administration.
•We got back every dime we used to rescue the banks and auto companies, with interest.
•I am not spying on American citizens.
•Obama Care will be good for America.
•You can keep your family doctor.
•Premiums will be lowered by $2500.
•If you like it, you can keep your current healthcare plan.
•It's just like shopping at Amazon.
•I knew nothing about "Fast and Furious" gunrunning to Mexican drug cartels.
•I knew nothing about IRS targeting conservative groups.
•I knew nothing about what happened in Benghazi.
•I have never known my uncle from Kenya who is in the country illegally and that was arrested and told to leave the country over 20 years ago.
•And, I have never lived with that uncle. He finally admitted (12-05-2013) that he DID know his uncle and that he DID live with him.
•If elected I promise not to renew the Patriot Act.
•If elected I will end the war in Iraq and Afghanistan within the 1st 9 months of my term.
•I will close Guantanamo within the first 6 months of my term.
•I will bridge the gap between black and white and between America and other countries.
And the biggest one of all:
•"I, Barrack Hussein Obama, pledge to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America."
#5
One unfortunate result of President Jackson's actions against the Bank of the United States may have been the severe economic depression that persisted for years in the 1830's.
#6
I wonder if Congress can't simply criminalize certain specified acts by federal servants for failing to enforce federal law or spending federal money on proscribed activities, etc. This is much more severe than merely forfeiting jobs or pensions, and would be the most direct way of dealing with extreme / deviant executive orders and failures to faithfully execute the laws.
The state and federal legislatures have always had the power to declare certain acts as crimes and to specify punishments for same.
#7
I would carefully consider how the response might be abused down the road when the pendulum of power swings back towards the Loony Toon couple - Reid and Pelosi. Their eventual replacements are more likely to be even more desperate an unencumbered by ethics.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/23/2014 16:25 Comments ||
Top||
#8
So WTF will censure do, other than make the censurer think that he just did something useful?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/23/2014 16:54 Comments ||
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Well, that's one way to sidestep it. Wonder if it'll play in Funkytown. NOTE: 24-hour Rule probably a good idea - Wish we had a newer photo of Ms. Brawley's guardian angel.
#2
If I am not mistaken, a Grand Jury has three decisions upon which to decide/rule:
1. There is sufficient evidence to believe that a crime may have been committed.
2. There is sufficient evidence that the person under indictment may have played a material role in the possible criminal incident.
3. The court hearing the case has proper jurisdiction to try the case, based on the circumstances and prevailing law.
The Grand Jury does not try the case, and does not assign guilt.
Having not seen the charges of identified the court involved, I cannot say anything certain about Point 3 - but I will assume that the case has been referred to a court with the correct jurisdiction. This case would IMMEDIATELY be ejected out of any improper court - so the court could avoid responsibility.
If Point #1 is judged affirmatively, then it seems a slam dunk that Point 2 will be upheld - I have heard no whisper than anyone other than Brown and Wilson were involved, and I will assume that substantial ballistic evidence shows that it was bullets from Officer Wilson's pistol that ended the thug's rampage.
So - the entire decision rests on whether significant evidence suggest that crime MAY indeed have been committed. I'd say that question is not particularly clear in either direction. Wilson did not shoot a pure, innocent waif who just happened to be sauntering down the sidewalk, on his way home from church. But - there is no evidence that Brown was armed, or actively seeking to harm any third party , and it appears that prior to the shooting, Brown had been moving away from Officer Wilson, and only turned back when Wilson hailed him, or otherwise demanded his attention.
All things considered, I would not feel too much that injustice was unfolding, if the grand jury sends this case to trial.
Given that the grand jury is basically "hung", it would suggest that if this case does go to trial, then the criminal trial standard of "reasonable doubt" is likely produce an acquittal.
#4
In Missouri the Grand Jury is comprised of 12 jurors. It takes 9 true votes for an indictment. When the final vote is taken you either have 9 true votes or you don't. It's hard to imagine a situation where a Grand Jury could be "hung".
There have been a lot of cases, however, where the jurors, in fear for their own lives or safety, may drop out or refuse to participate.
Usually a grand jury has 12 primary jurists and 6 alternates. If more than 6 members drop out and they don't have at least 12 members for a final vote... a new jury must be selected and the whole process resumes again from the beginning.
In this case I doubt the jury "failed" anything. It makes a lot more sense that final deliberations would be postponed until after the Thanksgiving Holidays to protect the jurors and their familys
#5
It only takes one asshat who thinks they are Dr Quincy or Detective Columbo to make up their mind based on theory, conjecture or personal bias rather than the facts of the case (or the opinion of a room full of other more intelligent reasonable persons).
#6
It's a Missouri case, it has to be done under Missouri law. There is no change of venue, other state's laws have no authority in Missouri. Now, filing federal charges is a different story, and will probably happen.
As for timing the release of the decision, I personally would aim for about 4 hours after the next blizzard hits.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
11/23/2014 10:20 Comments ||
Top||
#7
In the State vs. Federal department, aren't we missing a Federal Attorney General? I can't help but think that has thrown a wrench into the plans if some parties were expecting this to be a Federal murder.
#11
Too many involved interests to not do something; maybe just trying to figure the time slot.
As far as I understand Missouri law, this is just to bring to trial, not a judgement.
I'd bet you a sleeve of golf balls, that if former AG Holder calls somebody, they still jump. Until Holder et al realizes Holder is already under the bus.
#14
I work near Oakland. I wonder if there will be sympathy riots. They will probably make the announcement on Friday morning at 4AM EST. The reaction will just look like notrmal shopping.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
11/23/2014 15:25 Comments ||
Top||
Why face backlash when you can punish yourself?
The best-selling author also known as "Lemony Snicket" tweeted Friday that his remarks Wednesday night, centering on a joke about black author Jacqueline Woodson being allergic to watermelon, were "monstrously inappropriate and yes, racist." Handler pledged $10,000 to a campaign for diversity in publishing and added that for 24 hours he would match donations up to $100,000. On Thursday, he tweeted that his humor "clearly failed."
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Microsoft has enlisted a series of "crime-fighting" robots, called K5 androids, to patrol the company's Silicon Valley campus. Standing at five-feet tall and weighing 300-pounds, fitted with an impressive suite of alarms, high-definition cameras, microphones, heat detectors and laser scanners that allow the machines to assess any potential dangers. The K5 android also has Wi-Fi capabilities, weather sensors, speakers and GPS. In the event they do encounter trouble, the robots will flag up the incident by sounding an alarm and signaling back to the command center.
A shrill, backstage brawl at “The View” Wednesday left co-host Rosie Perez in tears while panelists Whoopi Goldberg and Rosie O’Donnell battled over how to cover the latest allegations against Bill Cosby and the racially charged upheaval in Ferguson, Mo., sources said.
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
As Supreme Leader Xi Jinping’s anti-graft crusade penetrates the inner circles of the People’s Liberation Army, signs of internal tension and disorder among senior military leaders are becoming evident, with reliable sources reporting that a growing number of leaders have committed suicide.
