Sunday, March 31, 2013

Police Chase, Tase, Arrest Crazed Democrat Lawmaker after He Attacks Dog with Wrench

From the AP:
Police chased a former lawmaker on a freeway between Las Vegas and Los Angeles and arrested him at gunpoint following a struggle, hours after he became the first person ever expelled from the Nevada Legislature.

Steven Brooks was jailed in California's San Bernardino County after being subdued with punches and a Taser. Police alleged he attacked a police dog with a wrench.

"It's hard to know where he was going, what he thought he was doing and why he would be involved in a high-speed chase," Brooks' attorney, Mitchell Posin, told The Associated Press on Friday. "I think he feels the world is against him. But I'm just piecing together bits of information."

Brooks' arrest Thursday near the California city of Victorville was his third since January, and came just hours after colleagues in the Legislature deemed the Democrat from North Las Vegas too dangerous and unpredictable to serve his elected term. Lawmakers wept Thursday as they cited concerns about their own safety and evidence collected about an increasingly bizarre series of public incidents.
Please bookmark!

Video: Obama Booed at Elite Eight Game

Pretty brutal considering he was in Washington DC:

Please bookmark!

U.S. Sends F-22s to South Korea Drills Amid North Korean Ass-holery

From Reuters:
The United States sent F-22 stealth fighter jets to South Korea on Sunday to join military drills aimed at underscoring the U.S. commitment to defend Seoul in the face of an intensifying campaign of threats from North Korea.

The advanced, radar-evading F-22 Raptors were deployed to Osan Air Base, the main U.S. Air Force base in South Korea, from Japan to support ongoing bilateral exercises, the U.S. military command in South Korea said in a statement that urged North Korea to restrain itself.

"(North Korea) will achieve nothing by threats or provocations, which will only further isolate North Korea and undermine international efforts to ensure peace and stability in Northeast Asia," the statement said.

Sabre-rattling on the Korean peninsula drew a plea for peace from Pope Francis, who in his first Easter Sunday address called for a diplomatic solution to the crisis on the Korean peninsula.
An F-22
Please bookmark!

Russia: Situation in North Korea that We Helped Create Could Spiral Out of Control

Thank goodness the nation that unilaterally invaded Georgia in 2008 and supports Syria killing tens of thousands of people is weighing in. From the BBC:
The North Korean situation could spiral out of control, Russia has warned, after another day of inflamed rhetoric from Pyongyang.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned of a "vicious circle" and told all sides to avoid unilateral action.

On Thursday, the North threatened to "settle accounts" and said it had put missiles on stand-by to hit the US.

The US, which flew stealth bombers over South Korea this month, condemned the North's "bellicose rhetoric".

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the rhetoric only deepened North Korea's isolation.

North Korean state media reported leader Kim Jong-un "judged the time has come to settle accounts with the US imperialists".
Lavrov
Please bookmark!

'Jew in the Box' Exhibit at Jewish Museum Causes Stir

Very odd. From Fox News:
"Are there still Jews in Germany?" ''Are the Jews a chosen people?"

Nearly 70 years after the Holocaust, there is no more sensitive an issue in German life as the role of Jews. With fewer than 200,000 Jews among Germany's 82 million people, few Germans born after World War II know any Jews or much about them.

To help educate postwar generations, the Jewish Museum in Berlin offers a Jewish man or woman to sit inside a glass box for two hours a day through August to answer visitors' questions about Jews and Jewish life. The base of the box asks: "Are there still Jews in Germany?"

"A lot of our visitors don't know any Jews and have questions they want to ask," museum official Tina Luedecke said. "With this exhibition we offer an opportunity for those people to know more about Jews and Jewish life."

But not everybody thinks putting a Jew on display is the best way to build understanding and mutual respect.
Please bookmark!

Shitty Anchor Leaving Shitty News Station

Bye bye Soledad:

Please bookmark!

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Finding an Immigration Attorney in Santa Barbara

Making sure that your family is taken care of is a very important part of anyone's life. This is especially the case if you are making sure that they are okay with their immigration status and their path to become a citizen. There are many potential pitfalls on the way to citizenship and a lot of laws to work through. You or someone in your family needs a partner that will work and fight for you to make sure that you have what you need to win and have it when you need it. There are many different ways to try and take care of this problem, but you may especially need an immigration attorney. A Santa Barbara immigration attorney can be just what you have been looking for. Someone with the right experience and know how could be work that you needed done the way that you need it. Consider all of your options in a situation like this and how an experienced immigration lawyer could make sure that you are taken care of. This is a great way to make sure that your family has what is needed when they need it. With so many pieces to the immigration law puzzle, you want to get every one in the right position. A good immigration attorney will do just that for you.

Please bookmark!

Friday, March 29, 2013

Bloomberg: North Korea 'Enters War' with South

Not sure what this means:



Please bookmark!

War What is it Good For


 
The President of Afghanistan, the man we installed and the leader of a land that is a nation in name only recently accused the United States of colluding with the Taliban to keep the war going. According to his spokesman, “The people of Afghanistan ask NATO to define the purpose and aim of the so-called war on terror... (They) consider this war as aimless and unwise to continue.”

I am a supporter of our troops.  I believe they are patriots and America’s best.  It is not the bravery or skill of our troops that I question; it is the imperial foreign policy which sends them as sacrifices on the altar of political ambition that I question.  The cruel calculations of political elites using our service men and women as pawns on their partisan game board are shameful.  The most shocking example of this is President Obama’s announcing a surge in troops at the same time he announced the exit strategy for leaving the country.  What could be more counterproductive than telling an asymmetrical partisan enemy that if they hang on long enough we leave and you win?

Look at Iraq.  We went to war to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction which even President Bush eventually admitted were never there.  We went to war because our leaders intimated that Iraq had a hand in the sneak attacks of 9-11 based on a rumored meeting between an Iraqi agent and Mohamed Atta another claim that has since been repudiated.  Did we go to war to correct the partial victory we gained in Gulf War I under George I?  Did we go to war as George II later claimed to make the Mideast safe for democracy?  Whatever the reason for invading Iraq, a nation we supported for years, a nation which had not and was not planning to attack us, what did we accomplish and what do we have now that we are gone? 

What about Afghanistan?  After the sneak attacks on 9-11 we had every legal and moral right to attack the nation that harbored and protected Al-Qaeda.  However, to keep faith with the Constitution a declaration of war should have been obtained.  Our armed forces waged a brilliant campaign that dismantled the Taliban regime in short order.  Then instead of saying, if it happens again we will come back again, and leaving we have stayed for more than ten years squandering hundreds of billions building a nation for people who don’t see themselves as a nation.  They are a collection of tribes grouped together by the necessities of international politics surrounded by a porous border and a history of ungovernable conflict.

Does anyone doubt that after we leave Kabul the Taliban will return?  Does anyone doubt that the training and weapons that we have given to our Afghan allies which are turned against us on a regular basis will form the bedrock of future Taliban strength?

The Constitution gives Congress the exclusive right to declare war.  This limitation on the prerogative of our chief executive to commit America to war without the consent of the citizens was considered one of the most important strengths of the document.  The founders of our nation came from a society in which autocratic kings had often plunged their nations into wars based on their own desires, whims, and political machinations.  Those who wrote the Constitution to be the framework for a new type of nation were determined that we should never go to war unless it was the expression of the people through their elected representatives.

There hasn’t been a declared war since World War II and yet our sons and daughters have fought and died in countless battles around the world.  With the war in Afghanistan set to wind down the Neocons and Progressives are beating the war drums daily for intervention in Syria and war with Iran. 

I believe once the truth is known America, in keeping with the Obama Administration’s on-going policy of supporting Islamic Radicals, has been supplying weapons to the Al-Qaeda led Syrian rebels for years.  I contend that the Mission in Benghazi and its satellite CIA Safe-House was in reality a conduit for transferring untraceable weapons from the captured Libyan arsenal through Turkey to the rebels.  So when it comes to Syria we are already there, and now our Neo-con cheerleaders want us to directly intervene.

The same goes for Iran.  There is a shadow war that has been raging for years between Israel with American support and Iran.  This shadow war consists of assassinations of nuclear scientists, bombing nuclear facilities and uploading computer viruses into computers used to control the cyclotrons used to enrich uranium on the part of the allies.  The response has been attacks against Israeli citizens around the world and even a bombing attempt in Washington D.C.

This is not enough.  America has been goaded into imposing draconian sanctions against Iran.  Sanctions which if imposed on us we would be consider acts of war.  Once again this is not enough.  The Neocons are working day and night to get us to deliver some shock and awe all over Iran all in the name of peace.

Iran has not attacked another country in the memory of anyone who is alive today.  Or in the lives of the ancestors going back hundreds of years.  America’s intelligence agencies unanimously tell us, Congress, and the Administration that Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program.  Iran is a signer of the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty, and as a part of that treaty it is guaranteed the right to develop nuclear power for peaceful means.

As part of the big push to get us into another war we are told “Containment is off the table.”  Usually soon after we are told “All options are on the table.”  Why is containment off the table?  It worked during the Cold war when we faced off with an enemy many times larger with thousands of nuclear weapons on delivery systems aimed at our cities.  Why won’t it work against a nation that at this point has no nuclear weapons?

Why is it acceptable for North Korea to have nuclear weapons but not Iran?  Does anyone think the Ayatollahs are crazier than the new boy dictator of the Kim dynasty?  There is no doubt that the United States military has the ability to destroy Iran’s conventional defensive and offensive resources within a short time.  It is obvious we could, “Bomb them back to the stone age” as the saying goes.  However that wouldn’t necessarily mean that some of the stones thrown later in the contest might not hurt.  Iran has an unknown asymmetrical war capability. 

It is believed that their allies in Gaza and Lebanon would immediately attack Israel.  The Iranians would also do all they could to interrupt the supply of the oil upon which we continue to allow ourselves to need.  They would attempt to attack the oil fields of their neighbors, to close the Straits of Hormuz, attack nearby American bases, and possible stir up rebellions in Sunni ruled countries with either sizable Shiite minorities or in some cases majorities.  We might even face terrorist attacks here in the Homeland.  This war would not be a cake walk.  The military and economic consequences would be immediate and they would be dire.

However, as dire as these consequences would be these are not potentially the most troubling. War opens the door for domestic changes that would not be possible during normal times.  While we have been and are engaged in a multi-generational seemingly endless series of wars this war might be different.  While all our other wars have been fought over there the civilian population continued to live as if Americans were not in harm’s way even though they were.  In other words we managed to have both guns and butter, war overseas and peace at home.  In the case of a war with Iran we might face a situation that could bring the war home to America in multiple ways.

Economically gas could skyrocket causing dislocation in our fragile economy.  On the military front terror sleeper cells could be activated in America or terrorists could come in through our porous southern border.  Both the economic impact and terrorist activities would open the door for drastic government action which could well negatively impact our lives.  Rights are often curtailed in times of emergency.   The cost of war is often seen in the growth of government power and the loss of freedom at home.

Our worldwide military presence is not keeping us safe and in many ways it is provocative.  Peace and equitable trade with all is the course recommended by our founders.  It was the foreign policy of every administration until McKinley and the default position until FDR.  Let us return to our traditions and reject these endless wars for peace.  Let us quit supporting other economies with our foreign bases.  Let us end the many entangling agreements that bind us to fight for others who should instead fight for themselves. 

With real peace we could perhaps deal with the domestic issues that are tearing us apart and driving us into bankruptcy.  Every patriot should recognize the danger new fronts in our never-ending war will have on our current battle to maintain personal liberty, individual freedom, and economic opportunity here at home.  Consequently patriots should do everything in their power to stop the stampede to war.  Stand up for real peace and not for more wars for a peace that never comes.  

Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, and Religion.  He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com © 2013 Robert R. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com  Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens

 

 

 

North Korea Readies Missiles for Launch

The rhetoric expands as Kim threatens not only South Korea but also the mainland United States.


US mainland and bases in Hawaii, Guam and South Korea were all named as potential targets.

The US - which flew two stealth bombers over the peninsula on Thursday as part of the ongoing annual US-South Korea military drills - has said it is ready for "any eventuality" on the peninsula.

Thousands of North Korean soldiers and students later took part in a mass rally in the centre of Pyongyang in support of Kim Jong-un's announcement, beneath large portraits of his father Kim Jong-il and grandfather Kim Il-sung.


Please bookmark!

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Finding a Family Lawyer in Kansas City

Finding a Family Lawyer in Kansas City

The safety of your family in every possible way is the most important thing in your life. Safety goes well beyond the physical, though. It also includes the financial, emotional, and stabilizing forces that you need to make sure that your family is ready for whatever comes their way. As a leader of your family, you want to make sure that if there are issues, especially those revolving around the breakup of a family unit or divorce, that you are prepared with the best possible options for keeping everything the way that it should be. A little bit of research and knowledge can be a very large part of making sure that everything goes well in the court system and that you and the rest of your family is protected. Consider this as you look for a Kansas City family lawyer. Having the protection that you need is no small price to pay for the safety and peace of mind that can come along with an attorney that will fight for you. A KC family lawyer is just what you may need. Make sure that you are prepared and ready for whatever life may throw your way.

Please bookmark!

Finding a Criminal Defense Attorney in Buffalo, NY

Finding a Criminal Defense Attorney in Buffalo, NY

Sometimes life can seem very difficult and like everything is falling out of control. If you are in a situation where you need the right representation to make sure that you are ready for whatever life or the law throws your way, make sure that you do your research and find an attorney that will fight on your behalf and make sure that you are okay in the end. When you are able to make sure that you have the right attorney with the right experience and knowledge to help you out, it could make a large difference in the end. This is the case if you are looking for a criminal defense lawyer in Buffalo, NY. Having the right lawyer can make a large difference and can help keep you out of trouble. Consider all of the ramifications of what could happen if you do not have a good criminal defense attorney for your case. Think of all of the options that you have in front of you and how they can make sure that you are prepared and ready for whatever may end up coming your way. Think of the peace of mind that you can have if you are making sure that you are protected and ready in case of a court case. This is very important and should be taken very seriously with the help of a skilled lawyer.

Please bookmark!

US Runs Bomber Drills in Korea

The drums of war beat on. B-2 stealth bombers took off from Missouri and are practicing bombing runs over South Korea.

"This mission by two B-2 Spirit bombers assigned to 509th Bomb Wing...demonstrates the United States' ability to conduct long-range, precision strikes quickly and at will," the United States Forces in Korea said in a statement.

North Korea has put its armed forces on readiness to fight what it says are "hostile" war drills by the United States and South Korea. The U.S. says the annual drills are defensive.


Please bookmark!

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Bulls End Miami Heat's 27-Game Winning Streak


The Miami Heat's epic twenty-seven game winning streak came to an end this evening as they fell 101-97 to the Chicago Bulls, despite outscoring the Bulls in the second half, and failed to eclipse the Los Angeles  Lakers record thirty-game streak in the 1971-72 season.


Illegal Alien Climbs Fence Right Behind Senators McCain, Schumer


So what happens only a few yards away behind Senators John McCain (R-Arizona) and Chuck Schumer (D-New York) when their touring the border in Nogales, Arizona?


An illegal immigrant successfully climbs an eighteen foot wall, right next to two U.S. Senators and several armed Border Patrol agents, and was apprehended immediately. Leading Senator McCain to tweet that the "incident is another reminder that threats to our border security are real."

Right on, Senator McCain. Please remember this story when the Senate picks up debate on immigration reform next month, as a prime example that while our border's security has improved a lot, there are still critical issues on our Southern front and that do form of pathway should be considered until all forms of illegal entry are sealed to the best of our ability.

What say you?

P.S. - The video is available at Hot Air

Bomb Goes Off Near Acropolis: Reportedly Targeted Wealthy Shipowner

From Sky News:
Apparently targeting the house of one of the country's shipping magnates, the blast close to Greece's most famous ancient monument occurred at about 8:30pm local time (6.30pm GMT), following a warning call to a Greek newspaper.

Police said an anonymous caller contacted a Greek daily at 8:10pm (6.10pm GMT), saying the bomb would explode at 8:30pm outside the home of shipowner Nikos Tsakos. Officers immediately evacuated the area.

The bomb had reportedly been left in a black backpack outside the entrance of the property.

Please bookmark!

Pope Francis Shuns Grand Apartment for Two Rooms

Practicing what he preaches. From the BBC:
Pope Francis has decided to shun a grand papal apartment on the top floor of the Vatican's Apostolic Palace in favour of a modest two-room residence.

His spokesman said he was "trying out this type of simple living" in a communal building with other priests.

In doing so he has broken a tradition which is more than a century old.

The decision reinforces the newly-elected Pope's austere reputation. As archbishop of Buenos Aires he refused to move into the Bishop's Palace.

Preferring more modest accommodation, he also often cooked his own meals.
Pope Francis
Please bookmark!

Private Emily Tomkins Saves Soldiers Life, Media Cares More About Her Boobs


Private Emily Tomkins, an Army Combat Medic in the British forces, was awarded a Mention in Despatches for her heroics in Helmand Province, where she saved a severely wounded soldier's life and dragged him to safety after stemming the loss of  blood from his injuries.

Private Emily Tomkins, Army Medic in the 4 Medical Regiment
Tomkins, a native of Southampton who is attached to the 4 Medical Regiment, has unfortunately received so much media attention in Britain and American military websites not because of what she did to aid the young soldier's life, but what she didn't do.

You see, the young soldier lost both of his legs in combat and after administering morphine to him, Tomkins had to deny him more of the powerful drug for fear of killing him, much to the suffering man's despair, who's only response was to ask the pretty Medic to "well do something useful and show me your boobs."

Our heroine kindly ignored the request and saved the young soldier's life.

However, if you were to consider the British media and the American grunt reporting of this story, it would seem the main story is a young infantryman maintaining his grunt bravado in the face of becoming a double amputee on the battlefield, and not the young medic who saved his life despite a likely drug influenced plea for cleavage.

While both soldiers are undoubtedly heroes for their roles in the Western efforts to defeat Jihadist forces and secure Afghanistan, I do believe we should honor Private Emily Tomkins more for her actions which saved a young man's life, and not sensationalize the story by including a grunt bravado sex bent.

What say you?

Michael Ramirez Cyprus Shatters EU Banking Confidence Cartoon 3/27/2013


From the always brilliant Michael Ramirez of Investors Business Daily on the recent financial debacle in Cyprus and its effect on banking confidence in the European Union:
What say you?

US Training Syrian Rebels


Not straight from the horses mouth, the United States is still waiting to announce that it has been arming the secular branch of Syria's rebel movement. This comes after the US had been giving humanitarian aid to opponents of Bashar al-Assad's regime. Still, it is apparent that the US is training rebels in Jordan:
Let me be very clear. The United States military is not conducting training of the Syrian opposition," Little said. "We are working closely with our Jordanian partners on training. But no element of the United States military is involved in training Syrian opposition groups."

CBS News' Cami McCormick reports that Little would not say what type of training is being conducted with the Jordanian military but he said the U.S. has been involved in joint planning with the Jordanians on a range of Syria contingencies "but that is different from the U.S. military training the Syrian opposition."

North Korea Cuts off Crisis Hotline

This sounds promising. The North has ratcheted up the pressure once again, this time cutting off the communications line between the two governments of Korea.


"Under the situation where a war may break out any moment, there is no need to keep north-south military communications," the head of a North Korean delegation told the South by telephone Wednesday, according to the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency.

The North linked the move to annual joint military exercises by South Korea and the United States, which it has cited in a string of threats against the two countries in recent weeks. Tougher sanctions approved by the U.N. Security Council have also fueled its anger.

Great
Please bookmark!

Large Group of Taliban Killed in Afghanistan

The combination of Afghan police and military forces and NATO killed over 50 Taliban members in a lightning assault in the last twenty four hours.
An additional 45 Taliban members were wounded and 21 others arrested.

Authorities also confiscated ammunition and improvised explosive devices in the sweep, which spanned 10 provinces, the interior ministry said.
Please bookmark!

Gee, What a Surprise: CA Doesn't Want to Pay Full Dorner Reward

Gee, what a surprise:


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy


Please bookmark!

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Pedro Quezada wins Powerball

Good for him. He's from New Jersey and works in a corner store. $338 million is coming his way (after taxes, of course):


"I felt pure joy when I found out. Just happiness. I never thought I would win such a prize,” said the 45-year-old, who moved to Passaic when he was 19. 
"The money is going to change my life but it won't change my heart,” he said. 
But he has already retired from his job at his family bodega.


Please bookmark!

Poll: Sanford Trails Colbert Busch 47-45%


Oh shit.

According to a poll released early this morning by Public Policy Polling: not only is former South Carolina Governor and world acclaimed Appalachian Trail climber Mark Sanford losing in his congressional bid, he's losing to Elizabeth Colbert Busch by two points in a significantly Republican district.

Okay, maybe that didn't make my point, he's losing to STEPHEN COLBERT'S SISTER!!!

And while his opponent in the upcoming Republican runoff, Curtis Bostic, is actually tied with Mrs. Colbert Busch at 43% (gee... I wonder why she performs four points better against the Argentinian love machine..), Sanford is unfortunately leading by thirteen points to receive the GOP nomination.

Nothing really surprises me anymore when it comes to South Carolina, as they hoisted this horrendous and terrifying situation upon themselves, but please South Carolina... Please don't send the trail hiker adulterer or the idiot Comedy Central "comedian's" sister to the House of Representatives.

What say you?

With No Decency, Daily Kos Lies about Rush Limbaugh

What a fucking joke this Daily Kos is.

Intentionally taking a quote out of context, Daily Kos ran a hit piece on Rush Limbaugh this week. In the same way that a quote of, "I do not believe slavery is good," can be changed to, "...slavery is good," the shitheads at Daily Kos ran this piece today: "With No Irony, Rush Limbaugh Says Lesbians are Obese Substance Abusers."

Of course he didn't say that with irony because he was citing a government study, the very same kind of study that the Daily Kos has supported. What a bunch of fucking imbeciles.
The founder of Daily Kos
In case you want to read a bunch of lies, the article's content was, in part:
On today's show, Rush Limbaugh spoke indignantly about two unidentified studies he says are being done, one to determine why so many lesbians are obese and the other to find out why so many are alcoholics:
"And, of course, the answers to the first case is they don't have to deal with men, so they don't have to worry about their appearance. They're not trying to please men. So they can be obese. It's no big deal. Alcohol, who knows? They're having to deal with women so they're drunk."
Limbaugh went on to insult Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts's cousin, who happens to be a lesbian. Jean Podrasky plans to attend Supreme Court hearings on California's ban on gay marriage as Roberts's guest on Tuesday.

Limbaugh painted Podrasky with his extra-wide stereotyping brush as well, saying "I can't ask whether chief justice's lesbian cousin is any of those things, because people would think I'm being mean."
Please bookmark!

Video: The Supreme Court takes on Gay Marriage

Monday, March 25, 2013

North Korea "Defeats" US Troops in New Video

Drat. I thought I would have heard about this in the news:

Please bookmark!

ObamaCare: Healthcare Application Registers Voters

I'm sure this isn't underhanded at all! From the Washington Examiner:
The 61-page online Obamacare draft application for health care includes asking if the applicant wants to register to vote, raising the specter that pro-Obama groups being tapped to help Americans sign up for the program will also steer them to register with the Democratic Party.

On page 59, after numerous questions about the applicant's identity and qualification for Obamacare, comes the question: "Would you like to register to vote?" The placement of the question could lead some to believe they have to register to vote to get health care.

In the introduction of the document, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services declare: "This document-the 'questionnaire'-represents each possible item that may need to be asked for successful eligibility determinations."
Please bookmark!

Woman Faces Federal Charges for Stealing Meatballs, Violating Army Values at West Point


If there was one thing I learned during my brief time in the United States Army, it is that you never - under any circumstances - attempt to eat food outside of chow. As not only is it considered an act of disobedience towards your superiors, but also an act of theft, and arguably worse, a violation of the Army Values.

Such an action would have landed your entire company (God help the unfortunate bastards) in contempt by the drill sergeants, and as a result - your branding as a Gomer Pyle, Blue Falcon or perhaps even the rightly received punishment of a blanket party - and in extreme cases, an Article 15.

For green Privates, away from home for the first time and restricted in even when and where you eat food, these deterrents are quite effective and horrifying enough to scare even the bravest of men from attempting such foolish endeavor...

... Apparently Estelle Casimir, a housekeeper at West Point never learned these values during her training and employment as service lady to the brightest in our military's next generation, as she is being charged, I kid you not, with theft of meatballs, and if convicted could face a two year jail sentence or a $2 thousand fine.

I am not going to get into the specifics, as it (1.) makes me hunger in the worse way for meatballs and (2.) causes me to laugh uncontrollably, but this is a perfect teaching point for Private Fuzzy's and new recruits: what do you think your drill sergeant is going to do to you.... if West Point is going hilariously hard after a housekeeper who stole meatballs for crying out loud?

The answer... You don't want to know the answer, because where you are going if you disobey your drill sergeants, there are no roads to survival.

What say you?

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Cyprus Issued Ultimatum: Take Bank Levy or Leave Euro

From the Guardian:
Wealthy Russians stand to lose billions of euros in Cypriot banks under draconian terms being hammered out on Sunday night in Brussels to prevent the Mediterranean tax haven becoming the first country forced out of the single currency.

Negotiations got underway amid a hardening of the stance held by the International Monetary Fund and Germany, who insisted that depositors must take the hit for bailing out the eurozone's latest crisis economy.

There were signs of panic in Cyprus as a €100 (£85) limit was imposed on ATM withdrawals, with more stringent capital controls to follow if a deal is reached.

The European Central Bank has threatened to cut off funds propping up Cypriot banks on Monday, precipitating the island's exit from the euro if agreement was not reached on Sunday night at the emergency meeting between eurozone finance ministers, the president of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades, and the bailout troika of the IMF, European Commission and the ECB.
Please bookmark!

Finding a Clarksburg WV Personal Injury Lawyer

Sometimes events get rough in your life. There are always those times when life can throw you a curveball and become an exhausting time. When you are dealing with such issues, especially if you are knocked down in a physical or emotional way, you want to make sure that you have as many resources as possible to help you through such a period. This is where having someone who will fight on your behalf is such a great chance to get back on your feet and get what you deserve. This is why you need a chance to fight back and help yourself out.

If you are in a tough spot, like dealing with an injury, you should get the help that you need. Perhaps you can't go back to work or there are other issues that are causing issues. Make sure that you have a good Clarksburg WV personal injury lawyer to help you through such an issue. Such a West Virginia personal injury law firm could be just what you need to help get yourself on the right track. Get someone that will fight for you and help you when you need it. What else could be more important?

Please bookmark!

Business Safety

Business Safety
March 26, 2013

Look at any of the headlines in the news lately. More and more there have been issues revolving around the theft or loss of private data. It is becoming a larger and larger issue and is something that should certainly be on your radar screen. With so many potential issues arising from the loss of private data, you should make sure that you can protect as much for both yourself and your business or organization. Making sure that you are safe and secure the first time is much better than having to deal with it several times or have a large leak of info that should always be secure for you. Consider this as you move forward to make sure that your business is ready for a full security brief and that it is prepared for whatever you may have to deal with in the future, even things that you may not see coming immediately.

The face of business is changing very quickly as time goes on. Many business offer free use of computers or smart phones for carrying out business. With all of this in mind, you need to make sure that everything is in good shape if you are to trust your employees with the company phones that you are paying for. One mistake and your entire business plan or way of making sure data is secure could be out the window. A major data breach is not in your best interest and could cause a lot of problems down the road. Make sure that you do the extra homework to prevent it. Keep tabs on what your employees are doing with the company phones and how to deal with them.

Since they are using the company's phone, you may want to see what they are doing with it. You can let them know that you are curious and want to make sure that it is only being used for the right reasons. Check out ways to make sure that you can keep a tab on them and that they are only using their company provided phones for the right purposes. For example, you can look at certain spy apps to see which could work for your business. For example, an app like mspy could be exactly what you have been looking for all along. Sometimes it is better to be prepared ahead of time and ready for what may come your company's way. Check out a site like http://www.mspy.com/mobile-phone-spy-software.html and see what it can do for you.

Please bookmark!

Rumor: Bashar al-Assad has been Assassinated

From a roughly translated Israeli source:
Arab media reported the assassination of Syrian President Bashar Assad. On - reportedly not yet been validated and have not yet received echo Western media, Assad fired one of his bodyguards.

This is an Iranian officer named Mehdi Jacoby, who was attached to Assad on - by allies of the Syrian president in Tehran.

Various reports published that Assad al-Shami was rushed to the hospital and in serious condition. Also reported the big fuss that has developed around the hospital and that all roads leading to the hospital were blocked - by the Syrian army. Also reported large military forces are in the hospital.
Possibly dead
Please bookmark!

Israel Fires into Syria

From Reuters:
Israel said it fired into Syria on Sunday and destroyed a machinegun position in the Golan Heights from where shots had been fired at Israeli soldiers in a further spillover of the Syrian civil war along a tense front.

It was not immediately clear whether Israel held Syrian troops or rebels responsible for what a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said had been a deliberate attack on Israeli patrols in the occupied territory.

Israeli forces "destroyed a Syrian machine gun nest that fired twice in the last 24 hours on Israeli patrols operating to safeguard the border," the spokesman, Ofir Gendelman, said on his Twitter page.

Shells have fallen several times inside Israeli-controlled territory during Syria's civil war. Some of the incidents have drawn Israeli return fire.

Syria's southern provinces bordering Jordan and Israel have become an increasingly significant battleground as the capital Damascus - in Syria's south - comes into play and President Bashar al-Assad's forces fight hard to prevent rebel advances.
Please bookmark!

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Eusebio Lopez Facebook Information 3/23/2013

His facebook hasn't been found yet, but some info:


Some more here:
Lopez was an instructor at officer candidates school, known for its grueling 10-week program that evaluates Marines on physical stamina, intelligence and leadership. The candidates must complete obstacle courses, hikes of up to 12 miles in full combat gear and take classes on navigation and tactics that help them in the field, according to the school's website.

Please bookmark!

Eusebio Lopez Information

Info on the Quantico shooter is trickling out:




Some more here:


Lopez was an instructor at officer candidates school, known for its grueling 10-week program that evaluates Marines on physical stamina, intelligence and leadership. The candidates must complete obstacle courses, hikes of up to 12 miles in full combat gear and take classes on navigation and tactics that help them in the field, according to the school's website.

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/03/23/3227439/marines-id-gunman-2-victims-in.html#storylink=cpy





Please bookmark!

Key Russian Dissident Billionaire Dies Suspiciously

Hmmmm.... Boy, this sounds familiar. Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky has been found dead in his house in Britain. He died at 67 and the details of his death have not been released yet.


The circumstances of the 67-year-old's death were unclear, though there were unconfirmed claims that the former power-broker of Russian politics had killed himself at the property in Ascot. Police said the death was being investigated as unexplained and the search for hazardous materials was a precautionary measure. Reports said his body was discovered in a bath.
Berezovsky's death comes only months after he lost a high-profile and personally disastrous court case against fellow Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. He had accused the Chelsea football club owner of blackmail, breach of trust and breach of contract in relation to a Russian oil company.



Please bookmark!

British to Possibly Face Gas Rationing

From the Daily Mail:
Freezing Britain was last night facing the unprecedented prospect of gas rationing.

A combination of bitterly cold weather and pipeline failures has left the energy grid at breaking point.
The country has less than 36 hours of gas reserves remaining and one energy expert warned yesterday that if the cold snap continues, rationing is ‘inevitable’.

If this happens, businesses and power stations will be restricted first, but then householders will be ordered to cut down on the amount of gas they use for heating their homes.

Britain’s gas stores are dangerously low as unexpectedly low temperatures have forced people to keep their heating on.

The crisis deepened yesterday when a crucial undersea pipeline connecting Britain and Belgium shut down without warning, pushing the price of gas up by 50 per cent to a record high.
Please bookmark!

Need a Criminal Lawyer in Jacksonville?

If you are in a difficult position with the law, you want to make sure that you have only the best resources at your fingertips to carry on. It can be a very difficult time and you need an ally that is on your side and will carry on your cause and case over the next several months and just in the time when you need it. You do not want just anyone carrying forward for you. You want to make sure that you have only the best, most educated and experienced counsel for your case in front of the court. Make sure that you do your research to find the person that is the best fit for you and will help you the most. Find a criminal attorney in Jacksonville and see what they can do for you. When you are doing your research, you can find who are the finest attorneys and who can best help you. This can make a big difference in the long run and can be the difference between winning the case or not. Since you know this, make sure that you do that extra research to find an attorney that is well educated and has the experience to help you the most. This can be all the difference.

Please bookmark!

Senate Democrats Finally Pass Budget


For the first time in four years the Democrat controlled Senate has done something, although required by law and constantly being reminded of which by Republican colleagues, as simple as sitting down and crafting their own budget proposal.

I know it is unheard of, but Senate Democrats were actually able to sit down, craft their own federal budget, hold amendment votes through out the entire night and pass their proposal by a slim 50-49 margin in the wee hours of this morning despite fears "on the fence" Democrats worried about reelection would cause all of it to  implode.

And that damn near did occur, as four Democrats bucked their party's proposal and sided with a unanimous Republican caucus against the bloated, tax-raising monstrosity and nearly cost Senate Majority Leader Reid his shirt in the process, as failure to pass his own budget after finally submitting one, would have been an epic embarrassment. 

While it definitely is progress for the Democrat Senate to actually awaken from their stupor and be engaged in the budgetary process, their proposal is typical of their caucus: it fails to balance the budget and relies on nearly one trillion dollars worth of tax increases to cover our obese federal bureaucracy.

The next couple of weeks should be interesting as Senate Democrats push their budget for adoption, while House Republicans rally behind the just passed Ryan plan... Get your popcorn out.

Where was the Meteor? 3/23/2013

Especially in the Northeast, seen in Washington, Maryland, and as far north as New York and New England:


Near Washington DC by photojournalist Kurt Brooks of WUSA9


Video of Washington Meteor 3/23/2013

Near Washington DC by photojournalist Kurt Brooks of WUSA9

Meteor Video 3/23/2013

From Maryland, released from a video system:

Meteor Picture

A new photo has surfaced, from Instagram user cmetzy7


Friday, March 22, 2013

Northeast Meteor Photo

Another photo has surfaced:


New York Meteor Picture



From NASA

Please bookmark!

Meteor New York Information


We got a buzz here in the Northeast from a meteor. Some info.


Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environmental Office said Friday night that the flash appears to be "a single meteor event." He said it "looks to be a fireball that moved roughly toward the southeast, going on visual reports."
He likened it to a boulder entering the Earth's atmosphere over the northeastern U.S.
He noted that the meteor was widely seen, with more than 350 reports on the website of the American Meteor Society alone.
Derrick Pitts, chief astronomer at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute, agreed that the sightings had all the hallmarks of a "fireball."


More here.

Please bookmark!

Meteor Information

We got a buzz here in the Northeast from a meteor. Some info.


Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environmental Office said Friday night that the flash appears to be "a single meteor event." He said it "looks to be a fireball that moved roughly toward the southeast, going on visual reports."
He likened it to a boulder entering the Earth's atmosphere over the northeastern U.S.
He noted that the meteor was widely seen, with more than 350 reports on the website of the American Meteor Society alone.
Derrick Pitts, chief astronomer at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute, agreed that the sightings had all the hallmarks of a "fireball."


More here.

Please bookmark!

Watch Live NCAA Coverage



Live streaming by Ustream

Kim Kardashian Baby Name

Boy, it almost makes me want to hurl having to put in celeb news on the site, but I guess it's interesting. Kim Kardashian and her genius boyfriend Kanye West are considering baby names.

At the top of Kimye's baby names list, meanwhile, is North, which would make the child, due in July, North West.









More info here.

James Holmes Islam Conversion

Ummmm....

That's certainly interesting. Looks like al Qaeda has a new sympathiser.


“He has brainwashed himself into believing he was on his own personal jihad and that his victims were infidels,” the source told the National Enquirer.
Mr. Holmes now prays five times a day, sticks to a strict Muslim diet and spends hours each day studying the Koran, the source told the Enquirer.
But most Muslim inmates are not happy with the convict’s new religion.


Please bookmark!

Is America a Republic or an Empire?


Over the years in this column I have written about the American Empire.  I have advocated jettisoning the Empire to save the Republic.  This topic has sparked debate and controversy even among the most dedicated readers.  Usually the argument runs like this, “America is not an Empire, never has been and never will be,” or “America’s far-flung military deployments are not the garrisoning of an empire it is instead a forward defense of the homeland.”

In my most recent column along these lines, aptly entitled, “Republic or Empire?” in several publications there was spirited debate about whether or not America could be called an empire.  Some people seemed to take offense at the very idea.  Others who usually agree with my political stands find this and my other foreign policy positions such as bringing our troops home, concentrating on defending America, and equitable trade with all unacceptable.  I present and promote these foreign policy positions as requirements for restoring limited government. It is my belief that as long as we are involved in endless war there is no real possibility to re-gain control of our government, our budget, or our future.

What I propose to do in this column is examine the hallmarks of empire and ask my readers to honestly ask themselves, “Is America a republic or an empire?” 

First, it makes no difference whether it is the President, the Paramount Chief, an Augustus, the First Citizen, the Dear Leader, the Great Helmsman or der Fuehrer.  It doesn’t matter if it is an executive branch, a Politburo, a Central Committee, the Cabinet, or the collective leadership.  Whatever form it takes, an empire is always dominated by a highly centralized executive power.

America was designed not to be an empire but instead to be a federal republic made up of a central government and state governments which were the precursors and creators of the central government.   This central government founded upon and constrained by a written constitution originally presented the world with something new, a national government made up of divided co-equal powers.  The Congress to make the laws, the executive to enforce the laws, and the judicial to judge if the laws conformed to the Constitution: the guiding light and touch-stone of American limited government.  This worked well to establish and maintain a republic but it would not foster nor perpetuate an empire.

Thus the Constitution established the framework of what became known as the system of checks and balances.  Only congress could make laws, but the President could veto them.  Congress could over-ride a president’s veto, but the Supreme Court could declare laws unconstitutional making them null and void.  The president is in charge of foreign policy and is the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, but the Congress controlled the purse and could cut off funding.  Upon petition the Supreme Court could declare the actions of the president unconstitutional yet the president could appoint justices to the Supreme Court.

Did this work perfect?  No, there were always swings one way or another.  There have been powerful Supreme Courts such as under Chief Justices Marshall or Warren that changed the complexion of the country.  There have been powerful Congresses such as the one from 1865 to the mid 1870’s that virtually ignored presidents and set policy.  There were powerful presidents such as Jackson or Lincoln.  However the pendulum always swung back and forth.  If you examined all three institutions there was one thing missing.  Where was the sovereignty?  Who was the nation?

In the highly centralized state, which is an empire whether personal or national, the leader or leadership operates according to the sentiments of the Sun King, Louis XIV of France who said, “I am the State.”  During the birth of the American system, our Founders had spent more time debating this than any other aspect of the government, who would be the sovereign power.  They had just fought and defeated one tyrant and they did not want to exchange one for another.  They didn’t trust the sovereignty of the nation in the hands of an executive because of the long and bloody history of Europeans with absolutism and divine right.  They didn’t trust an assembly after their recent history with the tyranny of the British Parliament and their Stamp Act, Quartering Act and other attempts to bring the colonies to their knees.  They couldn’t place it in the hands of the Supreme Court for that body would be merely judicial.

Instead they came up with a new idea in the world.  They placed the sovereignty of the nation in the hands of We the People.

The Constitution is designed to empower the people not the government.  Though today it is stretched and interpreted to give the government the power to do whatever it wants whenever it wants originally it was constructed to limit government.

We the People could vote the Congress in or out, we could choose our own president, and if the Supreme Court said something was unconstitutional that we wanted we could change the Constitution using a mechanism embedded within the document itself.  For the first time no leader or oligarchy owned the state, instead the state belonged to the citizens.

What do we see in America today?  We have a president who says, “We can’t wait for an increasingly dysfunctional Congress to do its job. Where they won’t act, I will.”  When Congress after deliberation decides not to pass the Dream Act giving amnesty to millions, the President uses an executive order to make it law by decree.  When the Congress refuses to pass a cap-and-trade law that many believe will hamstring our industry and hobble us in the race with other nations, the president orders his EPA department to enforce it anyway.  Without consulting Congress the President takes us to war against Libya and deposes a government. 

These are the actions of an executive out of control.  Under the original American system if anyone would have asked, “Who speaks for the people?” the answer would have been the House of Representatives because they were elected every two years and were thus closest to the people.  It wouldn’t have been the Congress as a whole because under the original system the senate was chosen by the various state legislatures and was designed to represent the states.  It was the House which spoke for the people.  Today it is the President who uses the bully pulpit magnified by a subservient press and a thousand government media pressure points and outlets saying in effect, I have a mandate from the people.  I am the embodiment of their will.  I am the state.

The next hallmark of an empire we will look at is that domestic policy becomes subordinate to foreign policy.  The American President is constitutionally in charge of foreign policy so there is no better place for the holder of that office to act without any restraint.  Treaties must be ratified, so our presidents began in the 1940’s to forge personal agreements with the leaders of other countries that had all the force of treaties with none of the messy Senate confirmation required.  Using their power as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces modern presidents have also used their authority to start wars as in Kosovo and Libya, to sign cease fires as in Korea, and to commit America to the support of dictators and tyrants through deployments and equipment transfers, all without any Congressional oversight. 

If we ask ourselves, has domestic policy really become subordinate to foreign policy think about whose infrastructure are we being taxed to rebuild?  In Afghanistan and Iraq our money and our companies are building new schools while ours fall apart, we are building new roads in Afghanistan while we watch our own bridges crumbling.  We give billions to countries and governments that despise us.  We borrow money to give it away and then sometimes borrow it back all in a bizarre dance balancing foreign interests at the expense of We the People.

Another hallmark of an empire is that the military mindset becomes ascendant to the point that civilians are intimidated.  Think about the Defense budget.   In 2012 it was over 600 billion dollars.  Does anyone believe Congress or anyone else really knows where all that money is going?  The size, scope, and unbelievable waste in the defense budget stagger the imagination.  However, to even question the defense budget will immediately get someone labeled as an isolationist who wants to gut our defense and surrender to the enemy. 

Many people will argue that we are in a war and that during war of course the defense budget will be bloated.  Can you remember any time since 1942 that we haven’t been in a war?  Yes, there were the brief days of the “Peace Dividend” under Clinton after the Soviet Union dissolved which actually became the rational for increased defense spending.  And during those brief days of peace back in the 1990’s we fought a war and enforced a decade long no-fly zone in Iraq, attacked Serbia, sent troops, planes or other assets to Zaire, Sierra Leone, Bosnia (numerous times), Herzegovina, Somalia, Macedonia, Haiti, Liberia, Central African Republic, Albania, Congo and Gabon, Cambodia, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan, Afghanistan, and East Timor.  And this was our only decade of peace since the 1940’s, and to question any of this is considered tantamount to treason.  We must ask ourselves, “Has the military mindset become ascendant to the point that civilians are intimidated?”

Perpetual war for peace has led the peaceful American people to be ensnared in the clutches of the military-industrial complex as president Eisenhower warned it would in 1961. 

All empires develop and maintain a system of satellite nations.  When we hear of this we immediately think of the old USSR and their slave states in Eastern Europe.  Advance the idea that America has satellite nations and people become irate.  “How could you say such a thing about America?”  Look at our so-called allies.  Do they fit the description as satellite nations?  A satellite nation is one that the empire deems is necessary for its own defense.  It is also one that feels it cannot stand alone and wants the empire’s protection. 

That is the deal.  The empire commits to protect the satellite and the satellite agrees to stand with its back against the empire facing a common foe.  Add to that the fact that we supply money and material to build the national defenses of our satellite/allies as well as economic aid and a preferential trade system.  Think about these ideas and decide for yourself whether or not America has satellite nations ringing the heartland of the empire. 

Another hallmark of empire is that a psychology or psychosis of pride, presumption, and arrogance overtakes the national consciousness.   We are all familiar with the twenty-first century incantation of “Too big to fail.”  That was applied by our bailout happy leaders to their pet banks and companies during the opening days of the Great Recession.  It is also an apt description for the way in which most Americans view our position as the most powerful nation on earth or as the silver tongued talking heads like to say, the world’s sole superpower.  Since the end of World War One the United States has been the unchallenged mega power among the western block of nations.  Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union we have towered like a colossus over the rest of the world.  In the memory of most people now alive it has always been this way.

To most people the way it has been is the way it shall be.  We speak of embracing change and of realizing that change is the only constant but few can really think that way.  The familiar seduces us into thinking that the momentary circumstances of today are the unshakable foundations of tomorrow.  To the children and grandchildren of the greatest generation the world will always gaze in awe at the great American eagle soaring above the world.  Our navies rule the waves, our masses of fighters, bombers, and drones can reach out and touch any corner of the globe, our troops are the best trained, best equipped, and best led armies the world has ever seen, so such a mega power could never fall.

So it seemed to the inhabitants of Rome the eternal empire.  So it seemed to the British when the sun never set upon the union jack.  And so it seems to us.  Even though a rag-tag group like Al Qaeda defies our attempts to destroy them and continues to grow and multiply around the world.  Even though the Taliban not only have withstood more than a decade of war they stand poised to reclaim their country as soon as we leave.  Even though our deficit spending and the national debt it creates is leading us to a financial collapse that our own military leaders have identified as the greatest threat to our security, and our leaders only answer is more spending.  This pride, presumption, and arrogance blinds us to the enduring truth of what comes before a fall.

Finally an empire is the prisoner of history.  A republic is not required to act upon the world stage.  It can pick and choose its own way seeking its own destiny as a commonwealth of citizens.  An empire must project its power for fear that if it doesn’t another leviathan will arise to take its place.  A free republic that has maintained its independence is able to decide where and when it will become involved.  An empire is always the leader of a center heavy coalition comprised of the imperial core and the associated or satellite nations.  As such it is the collective security against the barbarian, the other that drives the actions of the empire.

In the parlance of our day it is our turn.  It is our turn to be the policeman of the world, our turn to keep the peace, to guard civilization from the unwashed hordes who seek to turn back the clock and bring darkness into the world.  We are a vanguard of stability in a world beset by chaos, and so were the British and the Romans before them.

Other writers may say something has been left off these hallmarks while others may say some of these don’t apply.  To all I would recommend a study of former empires to see if they agree these properties are found in all of them.  Then ask ourselves, “Are these properties present in America today?”  Once we have completed this process we will be able to answer the question for ourselves, “Is America an Empire?”  If we decide, yes it is, we have to realize that there is a trajectory all empires follow: they rise and they fall.

We might decide that,we as the first empire that is not set-up to plunder wealth but instead to distribute wealth, are different, and therefore we will break the mold.  We will stand while others have fallen.  One look at our debt should persuade anyone that what we have built is as unsustainable as the British, the Roman, or any other empire we wish to use as a standard.

Do you say, “We can’t be an empire because our president is elected.”  So were the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, so were the kings of Poland. It is the empire that empowers our executive.  Do you say, “We can’t be an empire because we have a Congress.”  So did Athens, Rome, and Britain.  Do you say, “We can’t be an empire because we have freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, why we even have the freedom to own weapons.”  So did Athens, so did Rome, and so did Britain. 

While we are yet on the glory side of the fall let us abandon the empire to save our republic.  Let us resign from the great game of thrones, rebuild America, secure our own borders instead of those of Korea, or Afghanistan, and reaffirm our dedication to be the last best hope of mankind: a federal republic operating on democratic principles, securing our God given liberties, providing personal freedom, individual liberty, and economic opportunity to all its citizens.

Dr. Owens teaches History, Political Science, and Religion.  He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com © 2013 Robert R. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com  Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens