It all began here

Images from Syria

Russia denied its warplanes carried out strikes on a Syrian hospital supported by Doctors Without Borders, as Syrian government forces and a Kurdish-led coalition advanced in the country's north.

Syria's ambassador to Russia said the hospital was destroyed by the U.S. -led coalition which is carrying out strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria.

In recent weeks Syrian government troops backed by Russian airstrikes have been advancing on Western-backed rebels and other insurgents, hoping to seal off rebel-held parts of Aleppo city. 

U.S.-allied Kurdish forces, mainly battled the Islamic State group, have been advancing in the same region, battling Syrian rebels and other insurgents in a bid to expand a nearby enclave.

Dignitaries from northern Aleppo are trying to negotiate an agreement whereby the insurgents would surrender Marea in exchange for a safe corridor to the town of Azaz, near the border with Turkey.

Turkey views the Syrian Kurdish fighters as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against Ankara. Turkey no plans to unilaterally send ground troops into Syria to fight ISIL.

Opinion: US should not participate in the war in Syria on behalf of Turkey or Saudi Arabia who started the civil war, created and supported ISIS. The outcome is a Refuge Chaos which will trouble Europe and USA for a long time to come. We have seen that already in France and Belgium.                                    Just a thought.

The Bushy.

In private and among friends, Bush and his wife, Laura, express amazement at an election season that has been hijacked by Donald Trump. 

On Monday, Presidents’ Day, Bush try to help Jeb do just that. After deliberately avoiding politics throughout his post- presidency, Bush is stepping back into the arena for an evening rally in North Charleston with his brother.

Bush’s appearance is an urgent mission to energize Jeb’s struggling candidacy ahead of next Saturday’s South Carolina primary. But it also will firmly put the stamp of the last Republican to occupy the White House on the GOP contest at a moment of deep division.

The former president has been troubled by a Republican electorate that  so far, at least prioritizes Trump’s anger and projected strength over Jeb’s qualifications and experience.

George W. Bush is popular among Republicans here, especially members of the military services. 
The former president’s approval rating among South Carolina Republicans stands at 84 percent.

However, George Bush will bring back troubles of the past. The war in Iraq, thousands of American military lost their lives, thousands injured, disintegration of the area and the rise of fundamentalism. All will not be good for his brother's run.                Just a thought.

Deadly Cocktail

The headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon was occupied by an armed group. The Hammonds were convicted of arson on federal land,^[15] were sent to prison, and are now seeking clemency from the U.S. President.

The leader of the group said he began leading the occupation after receiving a divine message ordering him to do so. The militant group demanded that the federal government cede ownership of the refuge, and expressed willingness to engage in armed conflict. 

Protest leaders Ryan and Ammon Bundy are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They cited the Mormon scripture as justification for defying government authority. The LDS Church issued a statement, strongly condemning the seizure and that the armed occupation can in no way be justified on a scriptural basis. This group prevented others from using the federal Refuge.

Mixing Scripture, Guns, and Ignorance can lead to a terrible outcome.   
Just a thought.

Burn Baby...!

Donald J. Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders harnessed working-class fury to surge to commanding victories in a New Hampshire primary that drew a huge turnout across the state.

The success by two outsider candidates dealt a remarkable rebuke to the political establishment, and all but guaranteed protracted, bruising races for each party’s presidential nomination.

Mr. Trump, the businessman whose blunt language and outsider image have electrified many Republicans and horrified others, benefited from an unusually large field of candidates. He ran strongest among voters who were worried about illegal immigrants, incipient economic turmoil and the threat of a terrorist attack in the United States.

 Mr. Sanders, who has proposed an emphatically liberal agenda to raise taxes and impose regulations on Wall Street, drew support from a wide cross-section of voters, even edging among women, boosted by his appeal among the young.

Mr. Sanders, flashing a wide toothy grin, pointed to the large voter turnout as evidence that only he could energize the Democratic electorate to defeat the Republicans in November.

“Together we have sent a message that will echo from Wall Street to Washington, from Maine to California,. “that the government of our great country belongs to all of the people, and not just a handful of wealthy campaign contributors and their ‘super PACs.’ ”

Are we looking at one and the same?   Just a thought.

Feel the Bern

The SNL with Larry David and Bernie's message. It summarizes who Bernie Sanders is.

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/bernie-sanders-larry-david-snl-163608309.html

Trump-less Fox

We may be witnessing the collapse of the Republican party, or at least the Republican party as we know it. And if so, then Donald Trump is the harbinger of its apocalypse.
The signs of the party’s weakness and disarray are everywhere. Trump is the GOP’s presidential front-runner by most any measure. Yet the candidate is now in open warfare with two of the right’s most influential media platforms: National Review and Fox News.

Last week, National Review published a special issue devoted to denouncing the candidate.
Then on Tuesday, Trump announced that, because Fox refused to comply with Trump’s demand.

All-out conflict between two of the right’s leading media outlets and the GOP’s presidential frontrunner is virtually unprecedented. Among other things, it suggests that the traditional party power structures are breaking down, and are now competing amongst each other to retain their dominance.

Trump’s candidacy exists almost entirely outside the traditional support structure for successful Republican candidates. His campaign, for example, is run by a small staff of loyalists with little traditional national campaign experience and funded without the backing of the GOP donor class. He appears to have only one issue adviser, a former trade and immigration staffer for Alabama Sen. 

Trump is essentially running his own party now, housed within a hollowed-out GOP brand. In less than a year, he has all but taken over.

Just a thought.

Robo Rubio-Bubble

A New Hampshire newspaper is literally questioning, after a robotic, rehearsed talking points performance in front of its editorial staff, whether Rubio has a soul.

Marco Rubio visited the paper for roughly 20 minutes, and in that time he talked about ISIS, the economy, his political record and his background,” Erik Eisele wrote. “But it was like watching a computer algorithm designed to cover talking points.

He said a lot, but at the same time Said Nothing. It was like someone wound him up, pointed him towards the doors and pushed play. If there was a human side to the senator, a soul, it didn’t come across through.”

Eisele acknowledges that this may be a “harsh critique” but then noted that Rubio’s robotic nature runs counter to what people in New Hampshire look for in a candidate.”

Eisele, in the next paragraph after that, detailed how Rubio was certainly not “charismatic” as a politician another deadly criticism of the first-term U.S. Senator from Florida.

Sarah Palin referred to Sen. Rubio as "Robotic." Others call him the Republican Obama, or The Bubble Boy.

Rubio is a fast talker. He said nothing at all of what he would do as President, and if he said... it was of little value.   Just  thought.

Poetic Justice

Garrett Swasey was shot to death responding to an active shooter at Planned Parenthood office in Colorado Springs

Planned Parenthood's senior director was secretly videotaped as she ate lunch with people she believed to be executives from an Irvine human biologics company.

Later videos, released with great fanfare and accepted as gospel by antiabortion politicians around the country, suffered from the same problem.         Just not credible. Presidential candidate Carly Fiorina stood onstage at a Republican debate and upped the stakes against Planned Parenthood. She told a whopper. 

The antiabortion “sting” videos purporting to trap Planned Parenthood into admitting it harvests and sells aborted fetal parts for profit were as malicious as they were untrue.  A grand jury finding in Houston.

Asked to investigate Planned Parenthood, the country’s most important healthcare providers for women, the grand jury found no wrongdoing on the part of the group, whose staffers were secretly videotaped.

Instead, the grand jury handed down indictments against two of the antiabortion zealots involved in the “sting.”
David Daleiden, has been indicted on a felony charge of tampering with a government record. Daleiden and his associates [allegedly] used fake government identifications and used aliases.

He also was indicted on a misdemeanor count, soliciting the purchase of human organs, according to Harris County Dist. Atty. Devon Anderson (a Republican appointed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry).

It’s the scheming antiabortion types who have crossed legal and ethical boundaries.  They fake events, manipulate stories, and cause innocent people harm.               Just a thought.

Knee him ...?

 

Anjali Ramkissoon, a fourth-year neurology resident, has been placed on administrative leave, effective immediately, and removed from all clinical duties," Jackson said in a statement. "Jackson has launched an internal investigation. 

A  viral YouTube video emerged of an enraged young woman getting into a tussle with an Uber driver and trashing his vehicle on a Miami street.

And the Miller School of Medicine, where Ramkissoon had been working, according to Jackson Health, removed an image of Ramkissoon from its website. Ramkissoon's LinkedIn page identifies her as a "medical doctor at the University of Miami Department of Neurology."

The video shows an Uber driver holding back a young woman from himself and his car as she pushes against him. When she tries to knee him in the groin, the driver throws her to the ground.[Bad Move]

The woman then gets up and walks over the to car, pulls open the passenger door, gets in and then curses at the driver, yelling repeatedly "Get in the car!" The woman then begins tossing a wide array of items from the car, including multiple pieces of paper, headphones and scissors.

Nothing is hidden.      Just a thought.

Reckless...?!

Snowboarder Christian Mares survived what few ski resort guests ever imagine having to face, when he was nearly swallowed up by tons of fast moving snow. Now he's facing an avalanche of criticism and potential prosecution for what officials are calling his "reckless decision."
Mares triggered the avalanche at a popular ski destination just northwest of Lake Tahoe.

Resort officials say Mares was riding in a closed area of the mountain that was off limits, and the avalanche put other skiers at risk. "Those closed signs are there for a reason." 

The resort had the disappearance of 23-year-old ski instructor Carson May a week earlier. Rescue crews were unable to locate May at the time.

There are no official charges against Mares and the investigation is now in the hands of the Placer County Sheriff's Department for trespassing into a closed area of a ski resort.
....    Just a thought.