Pat_S's BlogWire
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Help Hillary Explain Why She’s Running For President
by Pat_S on October 6, 2015Apparently the campaign is at a loss over what Hillary is actually about. It ties in with the authenticity thing. Hard to be authentic when there’s no there there. In a brainstorming exercise, Hillary’s campaign HQ staffers have been challenged to finish the phrase “Hillary for…” Clinton searches for theme “The wall of stickies makes me nervous, because she should be for one vision for America and then maybe she achieves that vision with a bunch of policies,” said Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons. “I’m probably for most of the things on the stickies, but voters will have a tough time digesting a campaign with about a hundred policies.” Come on TAMs, let’s help her out. Hillary for… Cliched Liberalism It...
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Russia Says Bad Weather Reason For Violation Of Turkish Airspace
by Pat_S on October 5, 2015And we know which way the wind is blowing. A Russian jet violated Turkish airspace over the weekend. It left after being intercepted by Turkish F-16s. The Russian Defense Ministry said there was nothing nefarious going on. Russia says Turkish airspace violation ‘a mistake,’ Turkish media report “This current incident is a result of bad weather conditions in this region,” spokesman Igor Konashenkov told reporters. “You shouldn’t look for conspiracy theories.” At first the Russians said it was a navigational error. John Kerry expressed concern saying it was the kind of thing that could have resulted in Turkey shooting down the Russian jet. Obama is looking for rainbows.
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“So many trouble spots”: Former UN Ambassador Makes Keen Observation
by Pat_S on October 5, 2015In case you hadn’t noticed, there’s a lot of trouble goin’ on out there. Bill Richardson, former U.N. Ambassador, former governor of New Mexico and former Secretary of Energy under Clinton admin fills us in. Former U.N. ambassador says global landscape worst he’s ever seen “There’s so many trouble spots,”… “You’ve got Iraq, you’ve got the Iran situation, you’ve got Syria, you’ve got several wars in Africa going on, you’ve got Columbia and Venezuela fighting each other, you’ve got the immigration issue unsettled, you’ve got North Korea, you’ve got the refugee situation in Syria – this kind of explosion of problems.” He’s observed that relations with Russia aren’t that good, calling for a stronger international coalition to “thwart Russian...
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Iranian General: We Have Rockets Ready To Attack Saudi Arabia
by Pat_S on October 3, 2015Iran’s Brigadier-General Morteza Qurbani says Iran has 2,000 rockets for attack on Saudia Arabia awaiting the orders of Supreme Leader Khamenei. Iran has rockets ‘to attack Saudi Arabia’ He explained that the lines of defence for the Iranian revolution are today in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. “We are ready to carry out the orders of Khamenei and move anywhere he wants.” Iran is also sending advisers, equipment, weapons and troops to fight in Syria in support of Assad. Perhaps predictions that Iran would spend the windfall $100 billion on improving their economy and not for military adventures might be wrong. Surprise!
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Russian Bombing Authorization Not Limited to Syria Says Official
by Pat_S on September 30, 2015Russian parliamentarian Konstantin Kosachyov points out that the authorization for use of force is not limited to Syria. He said that Russia could strike beyond the Syrian border if targeted extremists flee across the border. The Latest: Russia could strike beyond Syria, exec suggests (at 7:35 pm mark) A prominent member of Russia’s parliament has suggested that Russia could strike beyond Syria if the extremists targeted by its airstrikes flee across the border. “When you poison an insect it’s not enough to send it into the neighbors’ kitchen,” said Konstantin Kosachyov, who chairs the international affairs committee in the Russian parliament’s upper house. “This would make our efforts to counter terrorism meaningless.” Kosachyov noted that President Vladimir Putin’s request for...
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Russia Bombing In Syria Not Targeting ISIS
by Pat_S on September 30, 2015With one hour warning to the U.S., telling the U.S. to stop flying warplanes in Syrian airspace, and 48 hours after meeting with Obama, Russia began dropping bombs in Syria. Not on Islamic State targets. They are targeting Syrian opposition forces. Putin defies West as Russia bomb ‘Syrian rebel targets instead of Isil’ Explaining the dramatic sequence of events, [State Department spokeman] Kirby said: “A Russian official in Baghdad this morning informed US Embassy personnel that Russian military aircraft would begin flying anti-ISIL missions today over Syria. “He further requested that US aircraft avoid Syrian airspace during these missions,” he said. The strikes targeted northern areas in the Homs countryside. Six children were among the dead, while dozens were wounded,...
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Russian Parliament OK’s Use Of Military Force In Syria
by Pat_S on September 30, 2015A technicality. Parliamentary approval is required by law. The vote was unanimous to approve the use of military force in Syria. Use of air force only. The last time the parliament did this, Crimea was invaded. Russian parliament grants Putin right to use military force in Syria “For Russian forces to operate there legitimately … a law was needed.” There have some media reports from the Middle East that Russian military jets have already started carrying out air strikes in Syria. The Kremlin has declined to confirm that. Last week Putin deployed 28 warplanes including SU-27 Flanker fighters for air-to-air combat, 15 military helicopters and SA-22 surface-to-air missiles. Russian ground forces are already deployed in Syria. Satellite photos show preparation...
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Like A Good Neighbor: Bill Clinton Tells Why He Signed NAFTA
by Pat_S on September 29, 2015First he wants to make clear it was G.H.W.Bush who was the architect of the main part of the agreement. Clinton finished up on some details. He says if he hadn’t signed the bill there would have been a million more immigrants from Mexico instead of being the great success it is today. (Huh?) Mexico would have been a lot worse off economically and Canada too I guess. He did it to be a good neighbor. I thought if you look out into the future, we’re gonna share the Americas with Canada and Mexico, and then Central America and all of South America and the Caribbean. We’re either going to have a good relationship and work together and grow together...
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Russian Official Says NASA Mars Water News Timed to Interrupt Putin UN Speech
by Pat_S on September 28, 2015Russian member of parliament, Vyacheslav Nikonov, says Putin’s speech was the ‘central element’ of the UN assembly. Putin had such great ideas to resolve international problems that the U.S. needed something major to take away the spotlight. Russian Official: NASA Announced Mars Water Finding To Interrupt Putin’s UN Speech “Putin’s speech was tough and concise. He formulated the basic principles of international relations without matching the United States and its allies. He offered concrete steps for resolving major international problems,” said Nikonov, a member of the Kremlin-backed United Russia political party and a grandson of Vyacheslav Molotov, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin’s foreign minister. “This means that they had to interrupt Putin’s speech with something very serious,” he added. Putin’s idea...
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Art Exhibit With Mice as ISIS Threatening Other Cute Animal Figurines Removed
by Pat_S on September 26, 2015I’ve never heard of them but Sylvanian Families are plastic toys popular in Japan and other countries. They were somewhat popular in the U.S. back in the 80’s. They’ve been reintroduced here, known as Calico Critters. From the Sylvanian Families website: Since 1985, Sylvanian Families has been loved by many people around the world. It is a nostalgic toy range that attracts people in different age groups. Based on three concepts, Nature, Family and Love, children can explore the power of imagination and learn to care and share with one another. Sylvanian Families are there to help children acquire key social skills. All of the families live in Sylvanian Village, where everyone enjoys the world of nature. Set around enjoying...
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UN Aims To Eradicate Extreme Poverty, Hunger, Illiteracy, & More
by Pat_S on September 26, 2015The UN, coincident with the Pope’s visit, issued goals to eradicate poverty by 2030. But why stop at that? The Panel believes there is a chance now to do something that has never before been done – to eradicate extreme poverty, once and for all, and to end hunger, illiteracy, and preventable deaths. This would be a truly historic achievement. But we wanted to do more… To do all that and more requires the right people. Thankfully the world has 27 eminent people (John Podesta from U.S. Others listed at end of PDF report.) who are up to the task of outlining a program to achieve the goals. This is the result of their work. A New Global Partnership: Eradicate...
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Ahmed Didn’t Build Clock. 1970’s Vintage Available on eBay
by Pat_S on September 18, 2015UPDATE: The model of the clock is more around mid 80’s than mid 70’s. From Artvoice: * Correction: A reader and commenter, Joe Donaldson, tracked down the clock in a Radio Shack catalog dated 1986. It’s likely that my guess of mid-to-late 70s was off by a bit, and it’s now obvious it was a model that was for sale in the mid 80s. Though it doesn’t really change the point, I want to post this correction here for accuracy sake and thank Joe for the heads up. You all know about the boy genius MIT praised and who Obama invited to the White House. Well, somebody went through the trouble of checking out Ahmed’s clock. Turns out it is...
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Holy Anti-Cop Batman! Latest Batman Comic Based On Police Racism
by Pat_S on September 16, 2015The Caped Crusader comes to realize as a rich man he is somewhat to blame for institutional racism and racist cops. The narrative alludes to the deaths of Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin and problems supposedly caused by gentrification. Batman confronts police racism in latest comic book. The latest issue of DC Comics’ flagship Batman series throws itself headfirst into the agonizing conversations roiling America more than a year after Ferguson officer Darren Wilson killed 18-year old Michael Brown. The globally iconic superhero confronts racialized police brutality and its intersection with urban poverty and gentrification – problems Batman comes to realize he exacerbates in his secret identity as billionaire industrialist Bruce Wayne. I’m not a Batman fan so I really...
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World’s First Head Transplant Possibly In 2017
by Pat_S on September 15, 2015Two surgeons, one Italian and one Chinese, say they could perform the procedure within the next two years. The surgical team performed almost 1,000 head transplants on mice since 2013. None of the mice lived for more than a day. A 30-year old Russian man with a rare spinal muscular disease will be the volunteer. First Head Transplant May Happen In China By 2017 Russian-born Valery Spiridonov, 30, volunteered for the surgery. Spiridonov suffers from Werdnig-Hoffman disease, which is a type of spinal muscular atrophy that is characterized as an incurable and progressive wasting ailment. The disease is a rare disorder that affects males and females equally, while all types of spinal muscular atrophy are estimated to affect between 4...
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So How’s That Spontaneity Thing Going Hillary?
by Pat_S on September 15, 2015Yikes! Reminiscent of one of those talent shows where the contestant bombs miserably, MSNBC ran a clip of Hillary building up to a punchline about Trump and then the Morning Joe panel critiqued her performance. The performance: The judges: Looks like only Mike Barnicle, a loser in his own right, is willing to give her any points.