you ever seen the little guy on the street corner selling gold watches and chains, Obama has always reminded me of that guy, bait and switch..

Well looks like we armed some more jackwagons:

Feb 11, 2015
Military.com by Richard Sisk
U.S. Embassy Marines in Yemen handed over their M-9 pistols and M-4 carbines before evacuating the chaotic country with diplomatic personnel, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

The Marines also left behind several vehicles at the airport in the capital city of Sanaa before departing on a civilian flight, said Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman.

Warren said the Marines destroyed their machine guns and other crew-served weapons before leaving the Embassy for the airport. He also said that it was unclear who now had custody of the weapons and vehicles that were surrendered.

A Marine spokesman could not immediately say whether the surrender of weapons by Embassy Marines in an evacuation was unprecedented.

The Marines "destroyed their crew served weapons. They left their personal weapons behind," Warren said, but he could not say whether the Houthi rebels who have taken over much of the country now had the weapons and vehicles left by the Marines.

Warren also could not say why a civilian charter flight was used rather than military aircraft for the evacuation. He suggested that the handover of weapons may have resulted from international rules barring weapons on a civilian flight.

The Embassy evacuation and the convoy to the airport was "orderly, uneventful and organized," Warren said. The evacuation took place amid what Western reporters in Sanaa described as relative calm in the city despite protests for and against the Houthis.

Warren declined to disclose the destination of the evacuation flight but said the Embassy Marines were remaining in the region. He also said that an undisclosed number U.S. Special Operations troops remained in Yemen for possible training of the crumbling Yemeni military and counter-terror missions.

The U.S., British and other embassies were closed and their personnel were evacuated as the Houthi rebels took over country at the southern end of the Red Sea. France urged all of its citizens to leave Yemen and said the French Embassy would close on Friday.

The central government in Yemen collapsed in January following the Houthi takeover of Sanaa. Yemen had been a U.S. ally in the fight against the Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) terror group.

The Houthis are also enemies of AQAP but have publicly expressed opposition to U.S. drone strikes against AQAP. However, the Houthis have as yet made no moves to stop the drone strikes.

Buckle up!


Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times - Saturday, February 14, 2015
President Obama on Friday night returned to his core 2008 themes of hope and change, telling Democratic party loyalists that he intends to challenge “cynical politics” during his final two years office.

Speaking at a party fundraiser in San Francisco, the president blamed Democrats’ poor showing in the November midterm elections on voter apathy driven by frustration and anger with government. He said low turnout largely is to blame for the GOP gaining seats in the House and capturing control of the Senate.

But Mr. Obama said he still has two years in office and intends to use that time to strengthen Americans’ faith in Washington.

“Part of my goal is also to restore a sense of possibility in our politics and our government. And in some cases, that means challenging folks who are practicing the worst kind of cynical politics, and a politics based on fear rather than hope,” he said. “In some cases, it’s going to be finding areas of cooperating with Republicans. In either case, we’re going to need people like you to support these ongoing efforts.”

While battling Republicans — and in some cases, his own party — on political fights of the day, Mr. Obama said he’s also beginning to lay the groundwork for Democratic campaigns in 2016.

“Two years is a long time. And two years is also the time in which we’re going to be setting the stage for the next presidential election and the next 10 years of American policy,” the president said. “And so I intend to run through the tape and work really hard, and squeeze every last little bit of change and improvement in the lives of ordinary Americans and middle-class families that I can.”

Friday night’s Democratic National Committee fundraiser was held at the San Francisco home of longtime Obama supporters Sandy and Jeanne Robertson. About 60 people attended, each contributing at least $10,000, according to party officials.

Buckle up!


Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times - Saturday, February 14, 2015
President Obama on Friday night returned to his core 2008 themes of hope and change, telling Democratic party loyalists that he intends to challenge “cynical politics” during his final two years office.

Speaking at a party fundraiser in San Francisco, the president blamed Democrats’ poor showing in the November midterm elections on voter apathy driven by frustration and anger with government. He said low turnout largely is to blame for the GOP gaining seats in the House and capturing control of the Senate.

But Mr. Obama said he still has two years in office and intends to use that time to strengthen Americans’ faith in Washington.

“Part of my goal is also to restore a sense of possibility in our politics and our government. And in some cases, that means challenging folks who are practicing the worst kind of cynical politics, and a politics based on fear rather than hope,” he said. “In some cases, it’s going to be finding areas of cooperating with Republicans. In either case, we’re going to need people like you to support these ongoing efforts.”

While battling Republicans — and in some cases, his own party — on political fights of the day, Mr. Obama said he’s also beginning to lay the groundwork for Democratic campaigns in 2016.

“Two years is a long time. And two years is also the time in which we’re going to be setting the stage for the next presidential election and the next 10 years of American policy,” the president said. “And so I intend to run through the tape and work really hard, and squeeze every last little bit of change and improvement in the lives of ordinary Americans and middle-class families that I can.”

Friday night’s Democratic National Committee fundraiser was held at the San Francisco home of longtime Obama supporters Sandy and Jeanne Robertson. About 60 people attended, each contributing at least $10,000, according to party officials.

Buckle up!


Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times - Saturday, February 14, 2015
President Obama on Friday night returned to his core 2008 themes of hope and change, telling Democratic party loyalists that he intends to challenge “cynical politics” during his final two years office.

Speaking at a party fundraiser in San Francisco, the president blamed Democrats’ poor showing in the November midterm elections on voter apathy driven by frustration and anger with government. He said low turnout largely is to blame for the GOP gaining seats in the House and capturing control of the Senate.

But Mr. Obama said he still has two years in office and intends to use that time to strengthen Americans’ faith in Washington.

“Part of my goal is also to restore a sense of possibility in our politics and our government. And in some cases, that means challenging folks who are practicing the worst kind of cynical politics, and a politics based on fear rather than hope,” he said. “In some cases, it’s going to be finding areas of cooperating with Republicans. In either case, we’re going to need people like you to support these ongoing efforts.”

While battling Republicans — and in some cases, his own party — on political fights of the day, Mr. Obama said he’s also beginning to lay the groundwork for Democratic campaigns in 2016.

“Two years is a long time. And two years is also the time in which we’re going to be setting the stage for the next presidential election and the next 10 years of American policy,” the president said. “And so I intend to run through the tape and work really hard, and squeeze every last little bit of change and improvement in the lives of ordinary Americans and middle-class families that I can.”

Friday night’s Democratic National Committee fundraiser was held at the San Francisco home of longtime Obama supporters Sandy and Jeanne Robertson. About 60 people attended, each contributing at least $10,000, according to party officials.

Buckle up!


Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times - Saturday, February 14, 2015
President Obama on Friday night returned to his core 2008 themes of hope and change, telling Democratic party loyalists that he intends to challenge “cynical politics” during his final two years office.

Speaking at a party fundraiser in San Francisco, the president blamed Democrats’ poor showing in the November midterm elections on voter apathy driven by frustration and anger with government. He said low turnout largely is to blame for the GOP gaining seats in the House and capturing control of the Senate.

But Mr. Obama said he still has two years in office and intends to use that time to strengthen Americans’ faith in Washington.

“Part of my goal is also to restore a sense of possibility in our politics and our government. And in some cases, that means challenging folks who are practicing the worst kind of cynical politics, and a politics based on fear rather than hope,” he said. “In some cases, it’s going to be finding areas of cooperating with Republicans. In either case, we’re going to need people like you to support these ongoing efforts.”

While battling Republicans — and in some cases, his own party — on political fights of the day, Mr. Obama said he’s also beginning to lay the groundwork for Democratic campaigns in 2016.

“Two years is a long time. And two years is also the time in which we’re going to be setting the stage for the next presidential election and the next 10 years of American policy,” the president said. “And so I intend to run through the tape and work really hard, and squeeze every last little bit of change and improvement in the lives of ordinary Americans and middle-class families that I can.”

Friday night’s Democratic National Committee fundraiser was held at the San Francisco home of longtime Obama supporters Sandy and Jeanne Robertson. About 60 people attended, each contributing at least $10,000, according to party officials.

Eat cake bitches!

Michelle Obama dodges accident to hit Aspen's ski slopes


After trying to keep secret the first lady’s annual skiing vacation to Aspen, Co., an Instagram photo and police report about a car wreck finally confirmed the trip.

The police report said that Obama’s motorcade had to go around a head-on car wreck Sunday in which both drivers walked away.

“They had to go around the accident this morning,” Police Chief Brian Olson told the Aspen Daily News. He said that the procession carrying the first lady and her daughters in Aspen for their fourth consecutive winter break was allowed to “sneak through while they waited on tow trucks.”

The day before, Saturday, the Obamas skied at Buttermilk, host of the Winter X Games.

The family, minus dad who is golfing in California, arrived Friday. An Instagram user posted a picture of what he called the first lady's Air Force jet parked at the airport.

STATE DEPT. CROWDSOURCES ‘THE SOLUTION TO VIOLENT EXTREMISM’
Psaki
by JOHN HAYWARD
21 Feb 2015
103
As if the State Department’s brainstorm to defeat ISIS with a jobs program for would-be jihadis was not funny enough, now they’ve put together a web site to crowdsource “solutions” to the “problem” of Generic Violent Extremism — not the problem most of us are worried about, but the one they feel comfortable talking about.

They even have a colorful logo for it. This is what it looks like when the community-organizer mindset goes up against murderous totalitarianism:

Screenshot 2015-02-21 at 1.21.19 PM

The website talks about the recent White House Summit To Counter Violent Extremism, quotes Secretary of State John Kerry declaring that the struggle against Generic Violent Extremism is “the defining fight of our generation,” and then solicits the visitor’s ideas.

In addition to being a low-cost exercise in the kind of symbolic hand-holding citizen outreach this administration seems to regard as a substitute for the Constitution and rule of law — you can’t call us heavy-handed dictators if we bolt a suggestion box to the front door of the imperial residence! – this has the effect of making it clear this administration has no idea what to do about violent “extremism,” particularly the version of it they refuse to identify by name. They will, however, be quick to tout whatever number of responses they get through this website as evidence that they’re working hard on the problem and making great strides.

The responses they have received from Twitter so far indicate that even crowdsourcing a solution to Generic Violent Extremism will result in killjoys highlighting that the federal government should be focusing its efforts on radical Islam, an actual threat facing the country today:




These are the motions we have to go through when the government insists on creating a fiction it finds ideologically palatable, and maybe even politically useful, instead of dealing with the real challenges faced by America and her allies. We have to pretend this subtle contagion of “violent extremism’ is equally likely to spread through every community, and encourage Lutherans to come up with an action plan to keep their next bake sale from getting rowdy.

Here’s an idea for the State Department: Why not ask the seven hundred people who showed up flashing the ISIS salute at the funeral for Copenhagen shooter Omar El-Hussein if they have any ideas for combating the threat of “violent extremism?”

Iraqi Army Downs 2 UK Planes Carrying Weapons for ISIL
Profile photo of Jenan JENAN 8 HOURS AGO
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iraq’s army has shot down two British planes as they were carrying weapons for the ISIL terrorists in Al-Anbar province, a senior lawmaker disclosed on Monday.
“The Iraqi Parliament’s National Security and Defense Committee has access to the photos of both planes that are British and have crashed while they were carrying weapons for the ISIL,” Head of the committee Hakem al-Zameli said, according to a Monday report of the Arabic-language information center of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq.

He said the Iraqi parliament has asked London for explanations in this regard.

The senior Iraqi legislator further unveiled that the government in Baghdad is receiving daily reports from people and security forces in al-Anbar province on numerous flights by the US-led coalition planes that airdrop weapons and supplies for ISIL in terrorist-held areas.

The Iraqi lawmaker further noted the cause of such western aids to the terrorist group, and explained that the US prefers a chaotic situation in Anbar Province which is near the cities of Karbala and Baghdad as it does not want the ISIL crisis to come to an end.

Earlier today, a senior Iraqi provincial official lashed out at the western countries and their regional allies for supporting Takfiri terrorists in Iraq, revealing that US and Israeli-made weapons have been discovered from the areas purged of ISIL terrorists.

“We have discovered weapons made in the US, European countries and Israel from the areas liberated from ISIL’s control in Al-Baqdadi region,” the Al-Ahad news website quoted Head of Al-Anbar Provincial Council Khalaf Tarmouz as saying.

He noted that the weapons made by the European countries and Israel were discovered from the terrorists in the Eastern parts of the city of Ramadi.

Al-Zameli had also disclosed in January that the anti-ISIL coalition’s planes have dropped weapons and foodstuff for the ISIL in Salahuddin, Al-Anbar and Diyala provinces.

Al-Zameli underlined that the coalition is the main cause of ISIL’s survival in Iraq.

“There are proofs and evidence for the US-led coalition’s military aid to ISIL terrorists through air(dropped cargoes),” he told FNA in January.

He noted that the members of his committee have already proved that the US planes have dropped advanced weaponry, including anti-aircraft weapons, for the ISIL, and that it has set up an investigation committee to probe into the matter.

“The US drops weapons for the ISIL on the excuse of not knowing about the whereabouts of the ISIL positions and it is trying to distort the reality with its allegations.

He noted that the committee had collected the data and the evidence provided by eyewitnesses, including Iraqi army officers and the popular forces, and said, “These documents are given to the investigation committee … and the necessary measures will be taken to protect the Iraqi airspace.”

Also in January, another senior Iraqi legislator reiterated that the US-led coalition is the main cause of ISIL’s survival in Iraq.

“The international coalition is only an excuse for protecting the ISIL and helping the terrorist group with equipment and weapons,” Jome Divan, who is member of the al-Sadr bloc in the Iraqi parliament, said.

He said the coalition’s support for the ISIL is now evident to everyone, and continued, “The coalition has not targeted ISIL’s main positions in Iraq.”

In late December, Iraqi Parliamentary Security and Defense Commission MP disclosed that a US plane supplied the ISIL terrorist organization with arms and ammunition in Salahuddin province.

MP Majid al-Gharawi stated that the available information pointed out that US planes are supplying ISIL organization, not only in Salahuddin province, but also other provinces, Iraq TradeLink reported.

He added that the US and the international coalition are “not serious in fighting against the ISIL organization, because they have the technological power to determine the presence of ISIL gunmen and destroy them in one month”.

Gharawi added that “the US is trying to expand the time of the war against the ISIL to get guarantees from the Iraqi government to have its bases in Mosul and Anbar provinces.”

Salahuddin security commission also disclosed that “unknown planes threw arms and ammunition to the ISIL gunmen Southeast of Tikrit city”.

Also in Late December, a senior Iraqi lawmaker raised doubts about the seriousness of the anti-ISIL coalition led by the US, and said that the terrorist group still received aids dropped by unidentified aircraft.

“The international coalition is not serious about air strikes on ISIL terrorists and is even seeking to take out the popular (voluntary) forces from the battlefield against the Takfiris so that the problem with ISIL remains unsolved in the near future,” Nahlah al-Hababi told FNA.

“The ISIL terrorists are still receiving aids from unidentified fighter jets in Iraq and Syria,” she added.

Hababi said that the coalition’s precise airstrikes are launched only in those areas where the Kurdish Pishmarga forces are present, while military strikes in other regions are not so much precise.

In late December, the US-led coalition dropped aids to the Takfiri militants in an area North of Baghdad.

Field sources in Iraq told al-Manar that the international coalition airplanes dropped aids to the terrorist militants in Balad, an area which lies in Salahuddin province North of Baghdad.

In October, a high-ranking Iranian commander also slammed the US for providing aid supplies to ISIL, adding that the US claims that the weapons were mistakenly airdropped to ISIL were untrue.

“The US and the so-called anti-ISIL coalition claim that they have launched a campaign against this terrorist and criminal group – while supplying them with weapons, food and medicine in Jalawla region (a town in Diyala Governorate, Iraq). This explicitly displays the falsity of the coalition’s and the US’ claims,” Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri said.

The US claimed that it had airdropped weapons and medical aid to Kurdish fighters confronting the ISIL in Kobani, near the Turkish border in Northern Syria.

The US Defense Department said that it had airdropped 28 bundles of weapons and supplies, but one of them did not make it into the hands of the Kurdish fighters.

Video footage later showed that some of the weapons that the US airdropped were taken by ISIL militants.

The Iranian commander insisted that the US had the necessary intelligence about ISIL’s deployment in the region and that their claims to have mistakenly airdropped weapons to them are as unlikely as they are untrue.

WASHINGTON — They say the only two things that are certain in life are death and taxes. President Barack Obama wants to add one more: voting.

Obama floated the idea of mandatory voting in the U.S. while speaking to a civic group in Cleveland on Wednesday. Asked about the corrosive influence of money in U.S. elections, Obama digressed into the related topic of voting rights and said the U.S. should be making it easier — not harder— for people to vote.

Just ask Australia, where citizens have no choice but to vote, the president said.

"If everybody voted, then it would completely change the political map in this country," Obama said, calling it potentially transformative. Not only that, Obama said, but universal voting would "counteract money more than anything."

Disproportionately, Americans who skip the polls on Election Day are younger, lower-income and more likely to be immigrants or minorities, Obama said. "There's a reason why some folks try to keep them away from the polls," he said in a veiled reference to efforts in a number of Republican-led states to make it harder for people to vote.

Statistically speaking, Obama is correct. Less than 37 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the 2014 midterms, according to the United States Election Project. And a Pew Research Center study found that those avoiding the polls in 2014 tended to be younger, poorer, less educated and more racially diverse.

At least two dozen countries have some form of compulsory voting, including Belgium, Brazil and Argentina. In many systems, absconders must provide a valid excuse or face a fine, although a few countries have laws on the books that allow for potential imprisonment.

At issue, Obama said, is the outsize influence that those with money can have on U.S. elections, where low overall turnout often gives an advantage to the party best able to turn out its base. Obama has opposed Citizens United and other court rulings that cleared the way for super PACs and unlimited campaign spending, but embraced such groups in his 2012 re-election campaign out of fear he'd be outspent.

Obama said he thought it would be "fun" for the U.S. to consider amending the Constitution to change the role that money plays in the electoral system. But don't hold your breath.

"Realistically, given the requirements of that process, that would be a long-term proposition," he said.

^ Sounds like a good idea, but to be fair we should also grant illegal immigrants the right to vote since they add so much to our society.

You forgot to use the sarcasm smiley.....


This post IS hilarious considering how much " outside money " played into the 08 /12 elections......my side hurts from the laughter. 🌫

Thought it was so obvious there was no need to.

A New Tool Against Cyber Threats

It’s one of the great paradoxes of our Information Age — the very technologies that empower us to do great good can also be used by adversaries to inflict great harm. The same technologies that help keep our military strong are used by hackers in China and Russia to target our defense contractors and systems that support our troops. Networks that control much of our critical infrastructure — including our financial systems and power grids — are probed for vulnerabilities by foreign governments and criminals.

Cyber intrusions and attacks — many of them originating overseas — are targeting our businesses, stealing trade secrets, and costing American jobs. Iranian hackers have targeted American banks. The North Korean cyber attack on Sony Pictures destroyed data and disabled thousands of computers. In other recent breaches that have made headlines, more than 100 million Americans had their personal data compromised, including credit card and medical information.

In response to these cyber threats, our government is using every tool at our disposal — including diplomacy, law enforcement, and cooperation with other nations and the private sector — to strengthen our defenses and detect, prevent, respond to, and recover from attacks. Still, it’s often hard to go after bad actors, in part because of weak or poorly enforced foreign laws, or because some governments are either unwilling or unable to crack down on those responsible.

That’s why, with the new Executive Order I’m signing today, I’m for the first time authorizing targeted sanctions against individuals or entities whose actions in cyberspace result in significant threats to the national security, foreign policy, economic health or financial stability of the United States.
Our primary focus will be on cyber threats from overseas. In many cases, diplomatic and law enforcement tools will still be our most effective response. But targeted sanctions, used judiciously, will give us a new and powerful way to go after the worst of the worst.

Starting today, we’re giving notice to those who pose significant threats to our security or economy by damaging our critical infrastructure, disrupting or hijacking our computer networks, or stealing the trade secrets of American companies or the personal information of American citizens for profit. From now on, we have the power to freeze their assets, make it harder for them to do business with U.S. companies, and limit their ability to profit from their misdeeds.

While we’re focused on the supply side of this problem — those who engage in these acts — we’ll also go after the demand side — those who profit from them. As of today, there’s a new deterrent because I’m also authorizing sanctions against companies that knowingly use stolen trade secrets to undermine our nation’s economic health.

These sanctions are meant to protect our national security, personal privacy and civil liberties. As such, sanctions will in no way target the unwitting victims of cyberattacks, like people whose computers are hijacked by botnets. Nor does this executive order target the legitimate cybersecurity research community or professionals who help companies improve their cybersecurity. And unlike some other countries, we will never try to silence free expression online or curb Internet freedom.

After all, a core principle of my Administration’s approach to cybersecurity is that we want more partnerships and innovation, not less. I want more Americans thriving in our digital world. That’s why we’re working to improve our ability to quickly integrate and share intelligence about cyber threats across government and with our foreign partners. It’s why we’re working to share more information about threats and solutions with industry and why we need Congress to pass legislation to help us meet this challenge. And it’s why

I’ve come out strongly for net neutrality — because we have to keep the Internet open and free.
As Americans, our security, prosperity, and privacy in the 21st century will depend on our ability to learn, innovate, build, and do business online — and to do it safely, knowing that our sensitive or personal information will be protected. As of today, the United States has a new tool to protect our nation, our companies, and our citizens — and in the days and years ahead, we will use it.

Z, I am not sure what to think of this. Cyber threats are very real. On the other hand the more big brother is watching the less I like it. It is certainly something worth considering.

Yup.

By BREITBART NEWS
9 Apr 2015

The Obama administration may be instructing illegal immigrants to join labor unions to shield themselves from deportation.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has reportedly entered into agreements with nations like Mexico, Ecuador, and the Philippines to educate foreign workers about their rights regarding union activity, according to a Fox News report.
But because those “agreements reportedly don’t distinguish between illegal and legal immigrants,” they may actually help potential illegal immigrants shield themselves from deportation by engaging in union activities.
An NLRB spokeswoman told Fox News that under the National Labor Relations Act, “employees, whether documented or undocumented, are protected from retaliation due to union or other protected concerted activity,” which “means employers could be charged for dismissing an illegal immigrant worker – if the firing is determined to be tied to the worker’s union activity.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may also be less likely to deport illegal immigrants who are involved in union organizing. As Fox News noted, in June 2011, “then-Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton issued a memo saying: ‘ICE officers, special agents and attorneys are reminded to exercise all appropriate discretion on a case-by-case basis when making detention and enforcement decisions in the cases . . . [of] individuals engaging in a protected activity related to civil or other rights (for example, union organizing).'”
Jessica Vaughan of the Center for Immigration Studies told the outlet that “it seems that the union is almost selling out the interests of American workers and legal immigrant workers in order to boost its membership by appealing to illegal workers and getting the assistance of other countries in doing that.”
Big Labor groups like the AFL-CIO have vocally supported comprehensive amnesty legislation, even though the Congressional Budget Office determined that such legislation would lower the wages of American workers, hoping that an amnesty bill will swell their diminishing ranks.

Those Bassards..!! 😠

>>> Z, I am not sure what to think of this. Cyber threats are very real. On the other hand the more big brother is watching the less I like it. It is certainly something worth considering. <<<

Yup.

Identity theft was the #1 crime in America 2014.

I got a comprehensive recovery program for my family. Chances are 1 in 30 that you'll be hit.

I liked it so much I became an agent.

BTW, chances for a child are 1 in 10 because their ssn's are squeaky clean.





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