#a sovereignty's reign; tony

[opedguy]

Navalny Sent to Penal Colony

LOS ANGELES (OnlineColumnist.com), Feb. 28, 2021.--Western powers’ dissident pro-democracy hero 44-year-old Alexi Navalny was transferred to a penal colony 100 kilometers [62 miles] from Moscow to serve out his Feb. 2 sentence for violating probation on an embezzlement charge, Navalny claims is phony.  Whatever the circumstances, 68 –year-old President Vladimir Putin flexed his muscle on a domestic affair, punishing Navalny calling for the overthrow of Putin’s 20-year-old reign of power.  Despite sold as a pro-Democracy angel by the U.S. and European Union [EU], Amnesty International revoked Navalny’s “prisoner of conssience” status for past comments, referring to Chechens as “cockroaches” saying they can only be dealt with by a “pistol.”  No, to 78-year-old U.S. President Joe Biden and 62-uear-old European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Navalny hold the hope of democracy in Russia.   

          Biden and von der Leyen are about to find out the hard way what happens when you sanction Putin for utter nonsense, an internal affair that U.S. and EU officials should mind their own business.  Both have made a big deal out of Navalny, because it plays well to the domestic audience.  Democrats and U.S. media have sanction fever, looking to push the world to brink by sanctioning Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.  Biden has shown, since taking office Jan. 20, that he’s weak leader, pushed around by the media and progressives within his party.  Biden’s early foreign policy  decisions upend the Democrat narrative that they’re party of peace, threatening  to sanction and Bin Salman for internal matters that have nothing to do with bilateral relations with Russia and Saudi Arabia.  Biden told King Salman that there’s a new sheriff in town.             Watching Navalny transferred to a notorious Russian penal colony should remind Biden and von der Leyen that there are consequences to messing with foreign powers like Russia and Saudi Arabia.  Russia supplies 40% of the EU’s natural gas and 30% of its petroleum and refined products, including gasoline and jet fuel.  Navalny’s out-of-the-picture for at least two-years-eight-months, nothing short of war could change that.  Biden stepped into the presidency thinking that the U.S. commands enough clout all over the globe to start threatening power U.S. adversaries.  His foreign policy team led by 58-year-old Tony Blinken have a sketchy track record, wasting billions of U.S. tax dollars on a eight-year proxy war in Syria that ended in failure.  Blinken, though a junior adviser, was all in when Obama, Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton decided to topple Col Muammar Gaddafi.Oct. 20, 2011. 

            Biden’s foreign policy team are making every mistake in the book, especially challenging world leaders for utter nonsense.  Can you imagine if Putin commented about the impeachment trial of 74-year-old former President Donald Trump.  Democrats and the press treated Trump worse that Putin treated Navalny, a known dissident that’s been  working for years to overthrow the Russian government.  House Democrats led by 81-year-old Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) accused Trump of “incitement of insurrection.” Can you image that?  Biden’s willing to send U.S.-Russian relations to 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis Cold War days over a Trotskyite dissident like Navalny.  Yet Biden and House Democrats would have gladly sent Trump to a penal colony had they had the power.  Navalny’s been put away where he belongs, after having the temerity to return to Moscow Jan. 23 expecting a parade.        

     Instead of meddling in the affairs of Russia and Saudi Arabia, Biden should be improving diplomatic relations because he’s in no position to defend any NATO country that Putin decides to invade, including Poland or the Baltic States.  Biden was recently rebuked by Europe for thinking that he’s leading a Western alliance. EU officials don’t consider the U.S. the leader of the “free world” any longer, letting Biden know that they don’t have much confidence in NATO.  Biden and his foreign policy team wants to turn U.S. foreign policy into a Democrat political issue.  Someone should remind Democrats that the 2020 campaign is over.  They won the presidency but they’re close to losing the peace.  EU officials have watched the U.S. make one foreign policy blunder after another, especially since the Iraq War.  EU officials know NATO did nothing to stop Putin from seizing Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula .      

       Threatening Putin and now Saudi Arabia with sanctions does nothing other than create a new Cold War atmosphere, pushing Putin to take desperate measures.  When he invaded Crimea March 1, 2014, it was after he watched the Feb. 22 CIA-backed coup oust Kremlin-backed Ukrainian President Viktor Yahukovych form Kiev, Putin acted.  It didn’t take long for Putin to answer Western powers and all the threats from NATO about saving Ukraine.  All that happened on Obama and Biden’s watch.  Now the EU doesn’t trust Biden when he says “America is back,” meaning that he wants to lead the Western alliance, something that seems preposterous. Biden’s in no place to guarantee the sovereignty and territorial integrity of any European or Mideast country.  Threatening to sanction the Russian Federation or Saudi Arabia is exactly the wrong approach to advance U.S. foreign policy.

  About the Author  

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.                 Reply  Reply All  Forward

[tohidulislam2129-blog]

The Freeway Face-Off is an ice hockey competition between the National Hockey League (NHL's) Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings. The arrangement takes its name from the enormous turnpike framework in the more prominent Los Angeles metropolitan zone, the home of the two groups; one could go from one group's field to the next basically by going along Interstate 5. The term is similar to the Freeway Series, which alludes to gatherings between the Los Angeles metropolitan zone's Major League Baseball crews, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels. The Kings and Ducks are matches because of geographic closeness. The two groups are arranged in a similar metropolitan zone and offer a TV advertise. The competition began with the Ducks' debut season in 1993–94 and has since proceeded. The Kings' first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals came in 1993. As of the finish of the 2016–17 season, they have arrived at the Stanley Cup end of the season games multiple times in establishment history (10 appearances since the Ducks joined the NHL). The Ducks have made the end of the season games multiple times, arriving at the Stanley Cup Finals twice: in 2003 and winning in 2007. The Kings and the Ducks didn't meet in the end of the season games until the 2014 Western Conference Semifinals. Ducks fans have done likewise for away games at the Kings' home ice, Staples Center. Games between the two groups are frequently extremely physical, ordinarily including various battles and punishments. The competition was exhibited for the NHL debut at the O2 Arena in London toward the beginning of the 2007–08 season with two games between the groups. The Ducks and Kings split the two games 4-1 each. The Kings dominated the principal match and the Ducks dominated the subsequent match. [2] [3]It was additionally exhibited as a component of a 2014 NHL Stadium Series coordinate at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, where Anaheim reigned successful in a 3–0 shutout. The contention was additionally warmed during the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, which was facilitated by the Kings at Staples Center. At the point when the Ducks made that big appearance to report Cam Fowler as their first-round, twelfth in general pick, the crowd dominatingly comprising of Kings fans, let out boos.[4] Before 2007, there was no official name for the standard season gatherings between the Ducks and Kings. The "Road Face-off" name was picked by a survey of 12,000 nearby hockey fans. Different names being considered were "Freeze-way Series" and "Ice-5 Series. About los angeles kings The Los Angeles Kings are an expert ice hockey group situated in Los Angeles. They contend in the National Hockey League (NHL) as an individual from the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The group was established on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent Cooke was granted a NHL development establishment for Los Angeles on February 9, 1966, getting one of the six groups that started have as impact of the 1967 NHL expansion.[3] The Kings played their home games at The Forum in Inglewood, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, for a long time, until they moved to the Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles toward the beginning of the 1999–2000 season. During the 1970s and mid 1980s, the Kings had numerous years set apart by great play in the standard season just to be cleaned out by early season finisher exits. Their features in those years incorporated the solid goaltending of Rogie Vachon, and the "Triple Crown Line" of Charlie Simmer, Dave Taylor and Hall of Fame player Marcel Dionne, who had a celebrated vexed of the uprising Edmonton Oilers in a 1982 season finisher game known as the Miracle on Manchester. In 1988, the Kings exchanged with the Oilers to get their commander Wayne Gretzky, prompting an effective period of the establishment that brought hockey's fame up in Los Angeles, and helped raise the game's profile in the American Sun Belt region.[4] Gretzky, individual Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille and defenseman Rob Blake drove the Kings to the establishment's sole division title in 1990–91, and the Kings' first Stanley Cup Final appearance in 1993. After the 1993 Finals, the Kings entered monetary issues, with a chapter 11 of every 1995, which prompted the establishment being obtained by Philip Anschutz (proprietor of Anschutz Entertainment Group, administrators of Staples Center) and Edward P. Roski. A time of average quality resulted, with the Kings just resurging as they broke a six-year season finisher dry spell in the 2009–10 season, with a group that included goaltender Jonathan Quick, defenseman Drew Doughty, and advances Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams. Under mentor Darryl Sutter, who was employed right off the bat in the 2011–12 season, the Kings won two Stanley Cups in three years: 2012, over the New Jersey Devils, and 2014, against the New York Rangers while Quick and Williams separately won the Conn Smythe Trophy. At the point when the NHL chose to grow for the 1967���68 season in the midst of thunderings that the Western Hockey League (WHL) was proposing to transform itself into a significant class and seek the Stanley Cup, Canadian business visionary Jack Kent Cooke paid the NHL $2 million to put one of the six development groups in Los Angeles.[5] Following a fan challenge to name the group, Cooke picked the name Kings since he needed his club to take on "a demeanor of sovereignty," and picked the first group shades of purple (or "Discussion Blue", as it was later formally called) and gold since they were hues generally connected with eminence. A similar shading plan was worn by the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), which Cooke likewise owned.[6][7] Cooke needed his new NHL group to play in the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, home of the Lakers, yet the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission, which dealt with the Sports Arena (and still deals with the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum today), had just gone into a concurrence with the WHL's Los Angeles Blades (whose proprietors had additionally attempted to land the NHL extension establishment in Los Angeles) to play their games at the Sports Arena.[8] Frustrated by his dealings with the Coliseum Commission, Cooke stated, "I am going to fabricate my own arena...I've had enough of this jibber jabber About anaheim ducks The Anaheim Ducks are an expert ice hockey group situated in Anaheim, California. They contend in the National Hockey League (NHL) as an individual from the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Since their origin, the Ducks have played their home games at the Honda Center. The club was established in 1993 by The Walt Disney Company as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, a name dependent on the 1992 film The Mighty Ducks. Disney offered the establishment in 2005 to Henry and Susan Samueli, who alongside then-head supervisor Brian Burke, changed the name of the group to the Anaheim Ducks before the 2006–07 season. The Ducks have made the end of the season games multiple times, won six Pacific Division titles (2006–07, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17), two Western Conference titles (2002–03 and 2006–07), and one Stanley Cup The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim were established in 1993 by The Walt Disney Company. The establishment was granted by the NHL in December 1992, alongside the rights to a Miami group that would turn into the Florida Panthers. An extra charge of $50 million was required, half of which Disney would pay legitimately to the Los Angeles Kings so as to "share" Southern California.[3] On March 1, 1993, at the fresh out of the box new Anaheim Arena – found a short separation east of Disneyland and over the Orange Freeway from Angel Stadium – the group's name was declared. The group's name was enlivened by the 1992 Disney film The Mighty Ducks, about a battling youth hockey group who, with the assistance of their new mentor, become champions.[4] Philadelphia-field the executives master Tony Tavares was picked to be group president,[4] and Jack Ferreira, who recently made the San Jose Sharks, turned into the Ducks' general manager.[5] The Ducks chosen Ron Wilson to be the primary lead trainer in group history.[6] The Ducks and the development Florida Panthers group rounded out their lists in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft and the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. In the previous, an emphasis on protection prompted goaltenders Guy Hebert and Glenn Healy being the principal picks, trailed by Alexei Kasatonov and Steven King.[7] In the last mentioned, the Ducks chose as the fourth by and large pick Paul Kariya, who just started play in 1994 however would end up being the essence of the establishment for some years.[8] The subsequent list had the most reduced finance of the NHL at just $7.9 million.[9]

[kyleburkholder]

Reading through 2017

What I’ve read (and am reading) so far in 2017…

1. The United States of Soccer: MLS and the Rise of American Soccer Fandom Phil West

2. The North Water: A Novel Ian McGuire

3. The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum, Charles L Quarles

4. The Power of the Other: The startling effect other people have on you, from the boardroom to the bedroom and beyond-and what to do about it Henry Cloud

5. The Worship Pastor: A Call to Ministry for Worship Leaders and Teams Zac M. Hicks

6. Faithful: A Theology of Sex (Ordinary Theology) Beth Felker Jones

7. Psalm 116: A 30-day Devotional on Rescue, Redemption and the Life We Live in Response Kyle Burkholder

8. Celine: A novel Peter Heller

9. Dark Matter: A Novel Blake Crouch

10. Four Views on Eternal Security (Counterpoints: Bible and Theology) J. Matthew Pinson, Michael S. Horton, Norman L. Geisler, Stephen M. Ashby, J. Steven Harper

11. The Sovereignty of God Arthur W. Pink

12. Divine Foreknowledge: Four Views (Spectrum Multiview Book Series) James K. Beilby, Paul R. Eddy, Gregory A. Boyd, David Hunt, William Lane Craig, Paul Helm

13. Final Destiny: The Future Reign of The Servant Kings Revised Edition Joseph C. Dillow

14. The Pastor: A Memoir Eugene H. Peterson

15. Free Grace Soteriology: Revised Edition David R. Anderson

16. Predestination & Free Will: Four Views of Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom (Spectrum Multiview Book Series) David Basinger, Randall Basinger, John Feinberg, Norman Geisler, Bruce Reichenbach, Clark H. Pinnock

17. The Hyper-Grace Gospel: A Response to Michael Brown and Those Opposed to the Modern Grace Message Paul Ellis

18. The Faith That Saves: The Nature of Faith in the New TestamentAn Exegetical and Theological Analysis on the Nature of New Testament Faith Chay, Fred

19. Nineveh: A Novel Henrietta Rose-Innes

20. Five Views on Biblical Inerrancy (Counterpoints: Bible and Theology) Zondervan, J. Merrick, Stephen M. Garrett, Stanley N. Gundry, Jr., R. Albert Mohler, Peter E. Enns, Michael F. Bird, Kevin J. Vanhoozer, John R. Franke

21. Faith Works: The Gospel According to the Apostles MacArthur, John F.

22. Jonah: A 30-day Devotional on Running, Rescue, and the Incredible Depth of God's Love Burkholder, Kyle

23. Gospel Fluency: Speaking the Truths of Jesus into the Everyday Stuff of Life Jeff Vanderstelt, Jackie Hill Perry

24. 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You Tony Reinke, John Piper

25. Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

26. Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life Tish Harrison Warren, Andy Crouch

27. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes Dan Egan

28. The Unstuck Church: Equipping Churches to Experience Sustained Health Tony Morgan

29. The Association of Small Bombs: A Novel Karan Mahajan

30. Christian Theology Erickson, Millard J.

31. StandOut 2.0: Assess Your Strengths, Find Your Edge, Win at Work Buckingham, Marcus

32. Experiencing Grief Wright, H. Norman

33. How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain Lisa Feldman Barrett

34. Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst Robert M. Sapolsky

[newstfionline]

Headlines

Dollar Reigns Supreme During Virus Crisis With Yuan Stuck in Shadows (Bloomberg) For all the human and economic damage it has wreaked on the U.S., the coronavirus crisis has reinforced the most important vestige of American power in the global economy: the supremacy of the dollar. The numbers tell the tale. The dollar is used in 88% of all currency trades, according to the latest triennial Bank for International Settlements survey. It accounts for 61% of the world’s foreign-exchange reserves, IMF data show. And the greenback has a 44% share of payments over the Swift global system, well in excess of the U.S. share of world GDP, at about one-quarter. Beijing, meantime, has been noticeably silent on any criticism of the dollar’s outsize role in the world—in contrast with the aftermath of the Lehman meltdown when its central bank governor called for the adoption of a global currency to displace the dollar’s dominance. “China is too early in its transition to a more market-driven economy to jump to a currency leadership position,” said Kathy Walsh, a finance professor at UTS Business School in Sydney who specializes in capital-markets research. “It is more likely that the plans to internationalize the RMB will be shelved while China navigates the rebuilding of its post-Covid economy,” she said, referring to the renminbi, the official name for China’s currency.

It’s a work from home Congress as House approves proxy vote (AP) It all started with the grandchildren. As House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer saw it, if he could Face Time with the grandkids, why not have Congress legislate by video chat and avoid the health risks of convening at the Capitol during the coronavirus pandemic? And so the silver-haired, 80-year-old congressman from Maryland helped steer the House into one of the more substantial rules changes of its 230 year history. From now on, lawmakers will be allowed to cast House floor votes by proxy—without being “present” as the Constitution requires. The next step will allow them to skip the middle-man and simply vote remotely once leaders approve the technology. The shift will dramatically change the look, if not the operation, of the legislative branch—launching a 21st century WFH House, like others, “working from home.”

Pizzas (and haircuts) back on the menu, but with warnings (AP) Venice geared up to receive tourists, Milan’s pizzerias prepared to open and Australians headed out to eat for the first time in weeks Saturday, but the reopening of restaurants, pubs and cafes came with a warning: Don’t overdo it. Public health experts are urging caution as governments ease restrictions on eateries, shops and parks in many countries and roll out measures to restart dormant factories. “The message is, yes, appreciate all the efforts, appreciate the opportunity to release some of those measures, but let’s not have a party, let’s not go to town,” said Tony Bartone, president of the Australian Medical Association.

Coronavirus masks a boon for crooks who hide their faces (AP) The way the FBI tells it, William Rosario Lopez put on a surgical mask and walked into the Connecticut convenience store looking to the world like a typical pandemic-era shopper as he picked up plastic wrap, fruit snacks and a few other items. Then, when the only other customer left, he went to the counter, pulled out a small pistol, pointed it at the clerk and demanded that he open the cash register. The scene, the FBI contends in a court document, was repeated by Lopez in four other gas station stores over eight days before his April 9 arrest. It underscores a troubling new reality for law enforcement: Masks that have made criminals stand apart long before bandanna-wearing robbers knocked over stagecoaches in the Old West and ski-masked bandits held up banks now allow them to blend in like concerned accountants, nurses and store clerks trying to avoid a deadly virus. “Criminals, they’re smart and this is a perfect opportunity for them to conceal themselves and blend right in,” said Richard Bell, police chief in the tiny Pennsylvania community of Frackville. He said he knows of seven recent armed robberies in the region where every suspect wore a mask.

A majority of Americans going to work fear exposing their household to the coronavirus (Washington Post) Even as most Americans spent the past two months hiding indoors, Damion Campbell has been rushing into retail and grocery stores in Columbia, S.C., each day. The 45-year-old owns an information technology company, and his clients rely on him to keep their cash registers operating. Just a few months ago, Campbell didn’t think much about touching surfaces that may not have been washed for days or longer, or chatting with employees while he does his work. But now, Campbell finds himself applying his military training to his civilian job. In the age of the novel coronavirus, that means stocking up on disinfectant wipes, always wearing a mask and never staying in one location for more than an hour, he said. Campbell’s experiences offer a preview of the new challenges that businesses and employees will soon face as commerce begins reopening in a new era of anxiety and apprehension. A Washington Post-Ipsos poll of more than 8,000 adults in late April and early May found that nearly 6 in 10 Americans who are working outside their homes were concerned that they could be exposed to the virus at work and infect other members of their household.

Latin America’s prisons reel from Covid-19 (The Guardian) The last time Víctor Calderón saw his son, Miguel, alive was on the eve of Venezuela’s coronavirus shutdown in mid-March. Weeks later, Calderón was handed back his child’s remains—one of at least 47 inmates killed during one of the worst prison massacres in recent Venezuelan history. The episode is one of a spate of disturbances in Latin America’s overcrowded and underfunded prisons where the coronavirus pandemic appears to have played at least some role. The conditions in Los Llanos, like in many gang-controlled Latin American prisons, were dire well before the pandemic. “In prisons, like everywhere in Venezuela, there is hunger,” said Tamara Taraciuk, Human Rights Watch’s deputy director in the Americas. “It’s not that they don’t provide adequate food—it’s that they don’t provide food.” With authorities unable to feed them, the prisons estimated 4,000 inmates relied on food brought in by relatives. But visits were outlawed in March because of the quarantine ordered by President Nicolás Maduro—and the situation appears to have come to a head on 1 May when troops opened fire on demonstrating prisoners. The bloodshed at Los Llanos is unlikely to be the last in a region where 1.7 million inmates are crammed into often squalid installations designed for a fraction of that number.

Coronavirus: Dutch singletons advised to seek ‘sex buddy’ (BBC) The Dutch government has issued new guidance to single people seeking intimacy during the pandemic, advising them to find a “sex buddy”. The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) says singletons should come to an arrangement with one other person. But pairings should avoid sex if one of them suspects they have coronavirus, the advice says. The guidance comes after critics said there was no sex advice for singles.

Greeks return to beaches in heatwave, but keep umbrellas apart (Reuters) Greeks flocked to the seaside on Saturday when more than 500 beaches reopened, as the country sought to walk the fine line between protecting people from COVID-19 while reviving the tourism sector that many depend on for their livelihoods. Sun-seekers were required to respect distancing rules, which even stipulated how far umbrellas must be kept apart. No more than 40 people were allowed per 1,000 square metres (10,750 sq ft), while umbrella poles had to be four metres (13 ft) apart, with canopies no closer than one metre, according to a government-issued manual, complete with diagram.

Wildfires ravaged Siberia last year. This spring, the blazes are starting even bigger. (Washington Post) Spring wildfires across Siberia have Russian authorities on alert for a potentially devastating summer season of blazes after an unusually warm and dry winter in one of the world’s climate-change hot spots. Some of the April fires in eastern Russia have already dwarfed the infernos at this time last year, which ultimately roared through 7 million acres in total—more than the size of Maryland—and sent smoke drifting as far as the United States and Canada. Siberia also is among the areas of the world showing the greatest temperature spikes attributed to climate change. This year, the average temperatures since January are running at least 5.4 degrees (3 Celsius) above the long-term average, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The nine-dash line (Foreign Policy) The United States sent three Navy ships to patrol near oil and gas projects off the coast of Malaysia this week, the latest move to deter China, which has dialed up its efforts in the South China Sea. In April, a Chinese survey ship harassed an exploration ship that belonged to the Malaysian energy company Petronas. Beijing has long sought sovereignty over clusters of islands to justify its claim to some 85 percent of the sea under the “nine-dash line,” which is recognized by none of its maritime neighbors. On April 18, China announced the establishment of two new administrative districts in the Spratly and Paracel Islands.

Iran’s tactical drawdown in Syria (Foreign Policy) U.S. Special Envoy for Syria James Jeffrey confirmed reports that Iran has begun withdrawing some forces from Syria as Tehran feels the double squeeze of U.S. sanctions and the economic turmoil brought on by the pandemic. “We do see some withdrawal of Iranian-commanded forces. Some of that is tactical, because they are not fighting right now, but it also is a lack of money,” Jeffrey said, speaking at a virtual think tank event on Tuesday.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 10.30

637 – Arab–Byzantine wars: Antioch surrenders to the Rashidun Caliphate after the Battle of the Iron Bridge. 758 – Guangzhou is sacked by Arab and Persian pirates. 1137 – Ranulf of Apulia defeats Roger II of Sicily at the Battle of Rignano, securing his position as duke until his death two years later. 1270 – The Eighth Crusade ends by an agreement between Charles I of Anjou (replacing his deceased brother King Louis IX of France) and the Hafsid dynasty of Tunis, Tunisia. 1340 – Reconquista: Portuguese and Castilian forces halt a Muslim invasion at the Battle of Río Salado. 1485 – King Henry VII of England is crowned, beginning the Tudor reign. 1657 – Anglo-Spanish War: Spanish forces fail to retake Jamaica at the Battle of Ocho Rios. 1806 – War of the Fourth Coalition: Convinced that he is facing a much larger force, Prussian General von Romberg, commanding 5,300 men, surrenders the city of Stettin to 800 French soldiers. 1817 – Simón Bolívar becomes President of the Third Republic of Venezuela. 1831 – Nat Turner is arrested for leading the bloodiest slave rebellion in United States history. 1863 – Danish Prince Vilhelm arrives in Athens to assume his throne as George I, King of the Hellenes. 1864 – The Treaty of Vienna is signed, by which Denmark relinquishes one province each to Prussia and Austria. 1888 – The Rudd Concession is granted by Matabeleland to agents of Cecil Rhodes. 1905 – Czar Nicholas II issues the October Manifesto, granting the Russian peoples basic civil liberties and the right to form a duma. (October 17 in the Julian calendar) 1918 – World War I: The Ottoman Empire signs the Armistice of Mudros with the Allies. 1918 – World War I: Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen, a state union of Kingdom of Hungary and Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia is abolished with decisions of Croatian and Hungarian parliaments 1920 – The Communist Party of Australia is founded in Sydney. 1925 – John Logie Baird creates Britain's first television transmitter. 1938 – Orson Welles broadcasts his radio play of H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds, causing anxiety in some of the audience in the United States. 1941 – President Roosevelt approves $1 billion in Lend-Lease aid to the Allied nations. 1941 – Holocaust: Fifteen hundred Jews from Pidhaytsi are sent by Nazis to Bełżec extermination camp. 1942 – World War II: Lt. Tony Fasson and Able Seaman Colin Grazier drown while taking code books from the sinking German submarine U-559. 1944 – Holocaust: Anne and Margot Frank are deported from Auschwitz to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where they die from disease the following year, shortly before the end of WWII. 1945 – Jackie Robinson of the Kansas City Monarchs signs a contract for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking the baseball color line. 1947 – The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade is founded. 1953 – President Eisenhower approves the top-secret document NSC 162/2 concerning the maintenance of a strong nuclear deterrent force against the Soviet Union. 1956 – Hungarian Revolution: The government recognizes the new workers' councils. Army officer Béla Király leads an attack on the Communist Party headquarters. 1959 – Piedmont Airlines Flight 349 crashes on approach to Charlottesville–Albemarle Airport in Albemarle County, Virginia, killing 26 of the 27 on board.[1] 1961 – The Soviet Union detonates the Tsar Bomba, the most powerful explosive device ever detonated. 1961 – Due to "violations of Vladimir Lenin's precepts", it is decreed that Joseph Stalin's body be removed from inside Lenin's tomb and buried nearby with a plain marker instead. 1973 – The Bosphorus Bridge in Turkey is completed, connecting the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosphorus for the second time. 1974 – The Rumble in the Jungle boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman takes place in Zaire. 1975 – Prince Juan Carlos I of Spain becomes acting head of state, taking over for the country's ailing dictator, Gen. Francisco Franco. 1980 – El Salvador and Honduras agree to put the border dispute fought over in 1969's Football War before the International Court of Justice. 1983 – The first democratic elections in Argentina, after seven years of military rule, are held. 1985 – Space Shuttle Challenger lifts off for mission STS-61-A, its final successful mission. 1993 – The Troubles: Loyalists carry out a mass shooting at a Halloween party in Greysteel, Northern Ireland, killing six Catholics and two Protestants. 1991 – The Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The Madrid Conference commences in an effort to revive peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine.[2] 1995 – Quebec citizens narrowly vote (50.58% to 49.42%) in favour of remaining a province of Canada in their second referendum on national sovereignty. 2005 – The rebuilt Dresden Frauenkirche (destroyed in the firebombing of Dresden during World War II) is reconsecrated after a thirteen-year rebuilding project. 2014 – Sweden is the first European Union member state to officially recognize the State of Palestine. 2015 – Sixty-four people are killed and more than 147 injuries after a fire in a nightclub in the Romanian capital Bucharest.

[mikemortgage]

Australian election May 18 to be fought on refugees, economy

CANBERRA, Australia — Australia’s prime minister on Thursday called a May 18 election that will be fought on issues including climate change, asylum seekers and economic management.

“We live in the best country in the world,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters after advising the governor-general to authorize the election.

“But to secure your future, the road ahead depends on a strong economy. And that’s why there is so much at stake at this election,” he added.

Morrison’s conservative coalition is seeking a third three-year term. But Morrison is the third prime minister to lead a divided government in that time and only took the helm in late August.

Opinion polls suggest his reign will become one of the shortest in the 118-year history of Australian prime ministers on election day. The polls suggest centre-left opposition leader Bill Shorten will become the eighth prime minister since the country plunged into an extraordinary period of political instability in 2007.

The election pits Shorten, a former labour union leader who has presented himself as the alternative prime minister for the past six years, and Morrison, a leader who the Australian public is still getting to know.

Shorten said in his first news conference since the election was called that his government will take “real action on climate change” and reduce inequality in Australian society if his Labor Party wins power.

“Australians face a real and vital choice at this election. Do you want Labor’s energy, versus the government’s tiredness? Labor’s focus on the future, versus being stuck in the past?” Shorten said.

Morrison is seen as the architect of Australia’s tough refugee policy that has all but stopped the people-smuggling traffic of boats from Southeast Asian ports since 2014. The policy has been condemned by human rights groups as an abrogation of Australia’s responsibilities as a signatory to the United Nations Refugee Convention.

Morrison’s first job in Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s newly elected coalition government in 2013 was as minister for immigration and border protection. He oversaw the secretive military-run Operation Sovereign Borders.

Asylum seekers from the Middle East, Africa and Asia would typically disable or sink their boats when intercepted by patrol ships in waters north of Australia so that the Australian crews would have to rescue them rather than turn the boats away. Under the new regime, the asylum seekers were placed in motorized life boats that were towed back to Indonesia. The life boats had just enough fuel to reach the Indonesian coast. The Indonesian government complained the policy was an affront to Indonesian sovereignty.

The government has also maintained a policy adopted in the final months of a Labor government in 2013 of sending boat arrivals to camps on the Pacific island nations of Papua New Guinea and Nauru. Those who attempt to reach Australia by boat are told they will never be allowed to settle there.

Morrison remains proud of virtually stopping people-smuggler boat traffic. He has a trophy shaped like a people-smuggler’s boat in his office inscribed with “I Stopped These.”

Labor has promised to maintain the policy of banishing boat arrivals to the islands. But Labor says it would give priority to finding permanent homes for the asylum seekers who have languished in island camps for years.

The conservative coalition argues that the boats would start coming again because a Labor government would soften the regime. The government introduced temporary protection visas for boat arrivals so that refugees face potential deportation every three years if the circumstances that they fled in their homelands improve. Labor would give refugees permanent visas so that they have the certainty to plan their lives.

Climate change policy is a political battlefield in a country that is the world’s largest exporter of coal and liquefied natural gas and has been one of the world’s worst greenhouse gas emitters on a per capita basis because of its heavily reliance on coal-fired power generation.

Disagreement over energy policy has been a factor in the last six changes of prime minister.

Labour Prime Minister Julia Gillard introduced a carbon tax in 2012. Conservative Prime Minister Tony Abbott scrapped it two years later.

The coalition is torn between lawmakers who want polluters to pay for their greenhouse gas emissions and those who reject any measures that would increase household power bills.

The government aims to reduce Australian greenhouse gas emissions by 26% to 28% below 2005 levels by 2030.

Labour has promised a more ambitious target of a 45% reduction in the same time frame.

Action on climate change was a major priority for votes when conservative Prime Minister John Howard’s reign ended after more than 11 years at an election in 2007.

Labour Prime Minister Kevin Rudd immediately signed up to the U.N.’s 1997 Kyoto Protocol on reducing emissions. Australia and the United States had been the only industrialized countries to hold out.

Climate change dropped down the list of Australian priorities after the global financial crisis hit.

But after Australians sweltered through a record hot summer and grappled with devastating drought, global warming has become a high-priority issue for voters again.

The government warns that Labor’s emissions reduction plan would wreck the economy.

The coalition also argues that Labor would further damage the economy with its policy of reducing tax breaks for landlords as real estate prices fall in Australia’s largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne.

Morrison boasts that the conservative administration Prime Minister Howard led delivered 10 annual surplus budgets and paid off all federal government debt before the government changed at the 2007 election.

Rudd had planned a budget surplus in his government’s first fiscal year, but the global financial crisis struck.

Many economists congratulate Rudd for keeping the Australian economy out of recession through stimulus spending. The coalition has accused Labor of spending too much and sinking Australia too deep in debt,

But debt has continued to mount since the conservatives regained the reins in 2013. But opinion polls suggest voters consider the conservatives to be better economic managers.

The government brought forward its annual budget blueprint by a month to April 2 and revealed a plan to balance Australia’s books in the next fiscal year for the first time in 12 years.

Labour also promised to deliver a surplus budget in the year starting July 1, but it has yet to detail how it will achieve this goal.

Labour has also promised to spend an additional AU$2.3 billion ($1.6 billion) over four years on covering treatment costs of cancer patients. It’s an attractive offer with half Australia’s population expected to be diagnosed with some form of the disease in their lifetimes.

The conservatives have largely taken credit for Australia’s remarkable run of 28 years of economic growth since its last recession under Labor’s rule.

Morrison hopes that voters will look to him to deliver a sequel to the Howard years when a mining boom delivered ever-increasing budget surpluses.

from Financial Post http://bit.ly/2P3sUi3 via IFTTT Blogger Mortgage Tumblr Mortgage Evernote Mortgage Wordpress Mortgage href="https://www.diigo.com/user/gelsi11">Diigo Mortgage

[imspardagus]

Henry VIII? No, let’s commission a Commission

In which I propose an alternative to bestowing on our Government massive, uncheckable legislative powers as a reward for getting us into the mess that is Brexit.

I’m a Henry VIII power, I am…

  It has been recognised for nearly five centuries that if a nation values the Rule of Law, it should not entrust its Executive (the Government) with primary legislative powers. King Henry VIII’s Statute of Proclamations, passed in 1539, an enactment that bestowed on the King the power to -

“… set forth at all times by authority of this act his proclamations, under such penalties and pains and of such sort as to his highness and his said honourable council or the more part of them shall seem necessary and requisite; and that those same shall be obeyed, observed, and kept as though they were made by act of parliament for the time in them limited, unless the king's highness dispense with them or any of them under his great seal.”

- in other words, to make proclamations having the force of law - did not long survive his death. The great lawyer, Blackstone, wrote of it as

"a statute, which was calculated to introduce the most despotic tyranny; and which must have proved fatal to the liberties of this kingdom, had it not been luckily repealed."

This despite the great efforts made by its drafter, Thomas Cromwell, to allay concerns as to its breadth by limiting its ability to interfere with existing statutory rights –

“Provided always that … nor by any proclamation to be made by virtue of this act, any acts, common laws, standing at this present time in strength and force, nor yet any lawful or laudable customs of this realm ... shall be infringed, broken, or subverted; and specially all those acts standing this hour in force which have been made in the king's highness's time;” 

A strong constitutional principle, then. So far, in the history of our “democratic” UK, however, an honest appraisal of the relationship between Parliament and Government must lead one to the conclusion that adherence to this fundamental aspect of the separation of legislative and executive powers has been more a matter of lip service than anything, as each Government, persuaded that it, rather than the membership of the House of Commons, has the electoral mandate to dictate the content of the law, has, through preferment and the Whip (carrot and stick), treated Parliament as its legislative minion.

But the principle of Parliamentary supremacy has nonetheless remained a constitutional article of faith and governments have mostly been wary of openly disavowing it; and that has provided the space for the occasional outburst of disobedience to the Government’s will by both Houses, from which the national interest has largely profited.

Sadly, the last 30 years have seen an emboldening of the Executive, however, in what could easily be seen as a gradual re-awakening of the idea of the divine right to rule. Strangely, it wasn’t the Thatcher years that did the most damage. Thatcher had, for all her faults, a deep-rooted sense of what should and should not be got away with constitutionally (She distrusted referendums, for example: see Hansard Vol 888, column 304). Though secondary legislation bloomed like a monstrous fungus during her reign, it was her true heir, Tony Blair, charged with that most dangerous of self-beliefs, “I am right, therefore everything I do is right”, who fully embraced the idea that Parliament should legislate only in broad brush terms leaving the greatest amount of discretion where it should be: with him[1]. His successors (with the honourable exception of Gordon Brown), untroubled by his high-mindedness, seized on the relatively unfettered powers he left carelessly lying around like delinquent schoolboys finding a box of matches. Their appetite for using delegated legislative powers for controversial policy changes got them into trouble in 2015 when the House of Lords effectively blocked George Osborne’s plans to make cuts to tax credits by means of delegated legislation.

When the Government arrogantly and indignantly attempted punish the Lords’ effrontery by seeking to change the rules to limit the power of the Lords to oppose it, the Lords Select Committee on the Constitution issued this withering riposte[2]:

“Successive governments have proposed primary legislation containing broad and poorly-defined delegated powers, including Henry VIII powers, that give wide discretion to ministers—often with few indications as to how those powers should be used. This Committee and others have noted a trend whereby delegated legislation has increasingly been used to address issues of policy and principle, rather than to manage administrative and technical changes.

The reasons for this are clear. Delegated legislation cannot be amended, so there is little scope for compromise. Far less time is spent by Parliament debating delegated legislation than primary legislation, and there is little incentive for members of either House, but particularly the House of Commons, to spend their precious time debating legislation that they cannot change. Finally, established practice is that the House of Lords does not vote down delegated legislation except in exceptional circumstances. The result is that the Government can pass legislative proposals with greater ease and with less scrutiny where they are able to do so through secondary, rather than primary, legislation.

These developments have strengthened the Executive at the expense of Parliament’s legislative authority.”

Behind the Lords’ reference to Henry VIII powers lay another article of constitutional faith. It was that only primary legislation should displace primary legislation: an Act of Parliament should only be repealed or modified by another Act. A right or a duty enshrined in an Act should only be compromised by another law of equal standing.

There had, however, come into existence an exception to this, finding its form in the so-called “Henry VIII power” referred to by the Select Committee, a title which, perhaps unfairly, derives from that Statute of Proclamations that we were considering earlier. As we saw, the Statute was carefully drawn, in line with constitutional principle, not to contradict, or “subvert” existing statute law. As such, it honoured the rule that no King and no authority under the King should have the power to change law without Parliament’s scrutiny and consent.

A Henry VIII clause, however, has as its very purpose the modification or repeal of primary legislation through mere executive action.

These powers have been, understandably, a matter of concern to constitutional lawyers for some time. Only a year ago, Lord Judge, a former Lord Chief Justice issued this warning[3]:

Forgive me trying to spell out two sentences what could occupy a very large tome. It is the exclusive responsibility of Parliament to make, or amend or repeal, the laws which govern the country. It is the responsibility of the executive to govern the country in accordance with those laws. For today’s purposes I need not add the responsibility of the judiciary to ensure that all those exercising power exercise it lawfully. All this is simple enough until, exercising its legislative sovereignty, Parliament delegates part of the law-making responsibility to the executive, and when it does so retains very little more than, in reality, nominal control. That is where the crunch is found, and my concern arises.

…

Unless strictly incidental to primary legislation, every Henry VIII clause, every vague skeleton bill, is a blow to the sovereignty of Parliament. And each one is a self-inflicted blow, each one boosting the power of the executive.”

His remarks were particularly pertinent as they were made in the context of an ill-judged constitutional freak show: the European Referendum. He was not alone in foreseeing that, were the UK electorate so collectively, suicidally, stupid as to vote in favour of leaving the European Union and were the UK Government and Parliament, in response to that vote, so derelict in their duty to serve the national interest above all other considerations as to hide behind the referendum’s provision of an ostensible demonstration of “the will of the people”, the temptation for the Government then to attempt to make its own life easier by side-lining Parliament in the enormous task facing it of extricating the UK from EU-related law while preserving the very same (or slyly ditching the parts that were, politically, not to its taste) would be irresistible to its executive despotic tendencies.

In short, the Government would be inclined to present Parliament with a Bill granting it wide powers to repeal or modify existing laws currently enshrined in primary and secondary legislation. Parliament’s ability to scrutinise and amend regulations made under such powers would be severely limited. But the implications of such changes would be far-reaching, potentially abrogating rights we, the citizen-dupes of the UK, depended on.

And so it seems likely to prove. We have no yet been granted sight of the so-called “Great Repeal Bill” but informed betting is heavily on it containing such a power.

 The problem, in a nutcase…

  With the insane decision to leave the European Union, we are facing a period of potentially massive upheaval. Every aspect of our life as a nation has been affected by our association with Europe and the consistency, harmony and certainty that it brought that has enabled people and companies to do business effectively and on even terms.  

We ought to be able to trust our politicians to act with propriety and in our best interests. Sadly, the evidence is that we can’t. We need to protect the constitution. Sadly, it seems we need to protect it from our own executive. Even with the best of intentions, Governments show themselves to be jealous of the power of others – Parliaments and the Courts - and impatient to have their way, acting in a fashion horribly reminiscent of a spoilt child - “Daddy has said I can have a pony and I want it NOW!” (“Daddy” being whatever crumby apology for a popular majority they have achieved in the polls.). We have every reason to believe that, granted the massive freedom of a Henry VIII clause to carry out the changes made necessary to reflect our isolation from Europe, they will abuse their power. They could not help themselves, could they? 

But to force Government and Parliament to use normally legislative process to make all the changes that will be required is equally fraught. There will just be too much to do. As legal experts have warned, the amount of legislation that will be needed to cope with our leaving the EU will block up Parliament for years to come, pushing out all other legislative business.

 An alternative source of legislative change: The Law Commission

    To find a solution to the problem we need perhaps to widen our vision. While it is the normal process that governments propose legislation, to underpin their policies, there is another body that has been charged with suggesting legislative change: the Law Commission.

The Law Commission was established under the eponymous Act of Parliament, passed in 1965. It was constituted so as to be independent of government, and composed of

“…persons appearing to the Lord Chancellor to be suitably qualified by the holding of judicial office or by experience as a person having a general qualification (within the meaning of section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990) or as a teacher of law in a university.”

That makes it almost as independent of political influence as the judiciary. The Act gave the Commission the following functions:

Functions of the Commission

(1) It shall be the duty of the Commission to take and keep under review all the law with which they are respectively concerned with a view to its systematic development and reform, including in particular the codification of such law, the elimination of anomalies, the repeal of obsolete and unnecessary enactments, the reduction of the number of separate enactments and generally the simplification and modernisation of the law, and for that purpose—

(a) to receive and consider any proposals for the reform of the law which may be made or referred to them;

(b) to prepare and submit to the Minister from time to time programmes for the examination of different branches of the law with a view to reform, including recommendations as to the agency (whether the Commission or another body) by which any such examination should be carried out;

(c) to undertake, pursuant to any such recommendations approved by the Minister, the examination of particular branches of the law and the formulation, by means of draft Bills or otherwise, of proposals for reform therein;

(d) to prepare from time to time at the request of the Minister comprehensive programmes of consolidation and statute law revision, and to undertake the preparation of draft Bills pursuant to any such programme approved by the Minister;

(e)to provide advice and information to government departments and other authorities or bodies concerned at the instance of the Government with proposals for the reform or amendment of any branch of the law;

(f) to obtain such information as to the legal systems of other countries as appears to the Commissioners likely to facilitate the performance of any of their functions.

A Scottish Law Commission was established to do the same for Scots Law.

In crude terms, then, the functions of the Commissions are to “clean up” the Statute Book. Though not identical to the issue we are now faced with regarding UK laws with EU aspects, the task is, I suggest, not so dissimilar.

 So a possible solution

   So, here’s my proposal.

Instead of bestowing on Government broad Henry VIII powers, Parliament should pass legislation establishing a new Commission – let’s call it for now “The United Kingdom and European Union Law Reconciliation Commission – a nice pithy title.

The Commission would be charged with the task of identifying all the legal consequentials of our divorce from Europe. But only the consequentials. The usual consultative and legislative mechanisms would remain in place to address any ambitions of Government to make substantive changes to our laws – for example the alteration of maternity rights, the dilution of our environmental protections. The Commission would concern itself solely with airbrushing our links with the EU from the Statute Book.

To achieve this, the UKEULRC would have as its first duty the systematic review of all primary and secondary legislation in force at the point when we left the EU. It would look for references to EU laws and institutions. And more broadly, it would look for those bits of EU law that were directly effective in UK law at that point.

As and when it had a coherent bundle of these references, the Commission would compile a report on their impact in the UK and on what would be needed legislatively to cleanse them of their EU associations, while leaving them substantively intact.  This is a vital aspect of the work. So far as possible, they must not compromise any extant rights or obligations.

They would submit their report and proposals directly to Parliament, to be considered by a Joint Committee. The Committee could remit the proposals for further work or commend them to the House. The House, in turn, would have the chance to approve the draft Order.

You could almost see this as Parliament side-lining Government: a nice inversion of the way in which Government has recently sought to treat Parliament. But it is not so. If, in the wake of Brexit, the Government wants to change existing, accrued rights and obligations, it should petition Parliament in the usual way: for a new law, clearly drafted, presented, scrutinised and passed by both Houses. Anything less is an insult to Parliament’s supremacy and a breach of the principle of separation of powers which underpins the rule of law and democracy. But it should also be free to do so, and Parliament should have the time to receive its petitions and scrutinise them.The procedure that I propose would, I believe, clear the way for that to happen.

By giving this near mechanical, apolitical task to a Commission, we not only free Government to pursue its policies but free ourselves to create a light touch procedure for making the purely consequential changes the Commission finds to be needed, and in the process free up the whole legislative process without undue damage to the principle of Parliamentary Supremacy. 

I have no doubt that there are flaws in this idea. I have equally no doubt that there are huge drafting flaws in the model Bill I have cobbled together to give an idea of what such an enactment would look like. I do not have the skills of a Parliamentary Counsel. I invite you to treat it as a discussion piece, a cockshy. Because one thing is sure: we need to find a way through this that brings us out on the other side with our Constitution, our democracy and our freedoms intact and as Blackstone warned, the Statute of Proclamations is anathema to that.

 [1] “Delegated legislation has increased in recent decades both in the number of instruments passed and in the size of individual statutory instruments. Whilst there were rarely more than 2,500 statutory instruments laid in any calendar year before 1990, since 1992 there have generally been between 3,000 and 3,600 per year (see Figure 1 in the Appendix for more detail). Moreover, the total number of pages of statutory instruments laid has doubled compared with the years before 1990.” – House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution, 9th Report of Session 2015–16.

[2] ibid

[3] “Ceding Power to the Executive; the Resurrection of Henry VIII” The Rt. Hon Lord Judge, 12 April 2016, King’s College London.

[khasmc]

CHARACTER INTERVIEW

▌real name: Trần Tony

▌single or taken: Single

▌abilities or powers: Possesses a Spotted Hyena morph, which allows him the ability to shift into fully form spotted hyena along with numerous shifts in between. Said shifts include a ‘half’, which gives him the most dexterity and mobility, and ‘were’ (also called heavy), which is rarely used.

▌eye colour: Muddy brown, black ring around the iris

▌hair colour: Black, tints of dark brown and gold in summer months; swatches of white near his nape and temples

▌family members: REDACTED

▌pets:  N/A

▌something they don’t like: 'aLpHaS’; alpha posturing; posturing in general (he has a thing about strict/’traditional’ hierarchy in most manners)

▌hobbies/activities: Cantonese and Vietnamese Mahjong; photography; reading; rock climbing; networking with other nonprofits; collecting journals and stationary; tending to and riding his motorcycle; singing popular 80′s hits at the drop of a hat

▌ever hurt anyone before: Yes, predominantly in hyena morph

▌ever killed anyone before: REDACTED

▌animal that represents them: Hyena; pit bull, bull dog

▌worst habits: Sucks his teeth; may eat noisily; ignores help for himself

▌role models: The mothers of mothers; elders; children

▌sexual orientation: Pansexual

▌thoughts on marriage/kids: Traditional marriage is not for him. As it stands, his clan members are his family and their children, by association, are his children. He’s not the best with kids, but he tries. The same goes for kin if they’re close.

▌fears: Failing (what, exactly, no one is sure); drowning (he’s not a good swimmer)

▌style preferences: Enjoys solids and numerous prints; generally favors blues and other cool colors. Enjoys layering- big fan of cardigans over v-necks and chinos. Prefers a fitted look to accentuate his height, but anything involving skinny jeans can fuck off.

▌someone they love: He lives and loves and it comes and goes, but it stays for his clan and his kin. He loves and it’s the weight of the world, but resigned when it comes to a romantic heart.

▌approach to friendships: He’s belligerent. If there’s a bond, which typically comes from some foundation of mutual interest in the other party, Tony will typically approach with the intention of befriending, even if his methods may come off heavy-handed to some. He will not cling, he will not force, but he is keen and willing to linger.

▌thoughts on pie: Sweet pies, no. Savory pies, better.

▌favourite drink: Oolong tea, water, Rose’s parent’s homemade liquor, and ever other auntie’s homemade brew

▌favourite place to spend time at: Outside of work-related places, he enjoys museums and any place he can get his hands on new stationary

▌swim in the lake or in the ocean: No swimming; he’d rather wade in the shallow end, regardless of body of water

▌their type: Confidence in sense of self. The arrogant need not apply.

▌camping or indoors: Camping

[opedguy]

China’s Biologically-Enhanced Soldiers

LOS ANGELES (OnlineColumnist.com), Dec. 5, 2020.--Spewing more disinformation in the waning days of the Trump presidency, 55-year-old Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe wrote in the Wall Street Journal that China performs “human testing” to create “biologically enhanced soldiers,” warning about China being the biggest threat to U.S. national security.  But Ratcliffe makes some whopping statements that aren’t backed up with any facts, sounding more like science fiction than anything real.  If the Chinese military puts it soldiers through a more brutal boot camp to provide better conditioning for its conscripts, that’s hardly using genetic engineering to create “biologically enhanced soldiers.”  Even if the Chinese military fed soldiers adderall or other types of stimulants, that wouldn’t qualify as Ratcliffe suggests some kind of super-humans with which to fight its battles.  Ratcliffe says the U.S. must be prepared for “open-ended” confrontation.      

       More than any U.S. administration since former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger met with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai July 9, 1971, 74-year-old President Donald Trump made China the target of an aggressive overhaul of U.S.  trade polices.  President Richard Nixon followed up Kissinger’s opening, meeting with Chairman Mao Zedong Feb. 21-28, 1972 formally opening U.S. ties with Communist China.  Over fifty years later, Trump concluded that China was stealing U.S. jobs, driving manufacturing out of the United States.  Trump built his foreign policy on China “ripping off” of the United States, both in terms of stealing intellectual property but also gutting U.S. manufacturing jobs.  If U.S. and foreign companies moved manufacturing to China it was because they wanted bigger profits, capitalizing on China’s cheap labor prices for all types of manufacturing.       

      Ratcliffe’s statements, whether there’s any truth to them or not, alienates the Chinese government, offers no suggestions for improving already strained relations.  Whatever the Biden family’s past business ties with China, there’s no question that things got worse under Trump.  Trump’s trade representative Peter Navarro wrote the book on China’s wholesale theft of U.S. property, blaming China for practically everything. Then the Wuhan, China-originated coronavirus AKA SARS CoV-2 or Covid-19 hit the U.S. last January, creating the worst infectious disease crisis in the 1918 Spanish Flu global pandemic that killed up to 100 million worldwide.  Now Ratcliffe takes his parting shots at China, accusing China of trying to “dominate” the planet, not specifically about the novel coronavirus but because Beijing doesn’t like to follow international agreements, especially about open seas.    

         Ratcliffe wasn’t the first or the last U.S. official to question China’s foreign policy that looks to control the archipelago in the South China Sea, building out military installations in shallow shoals, violating the sovereignty of Pacific Rim countries like the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.  Taking China to the Hague’s International Criminal Court hasn’t meant much because, no matter what the rulings against China, there’s no enforcement mechanism.  Former President George W. Bush found out the hard way April1, 2001 with China when a U.S. surveillance plane was intercepted and forced to land on Hainan Island.  China kept the plane and the crew for over 30 days before releasing the crew and returning the dissembled plane in cartons.  China used the Hainan island incident as a shot across the bow to the U.S.  Trump’s been the first president to go after China’s economy.    

         Ratcliffe said Beijing “conducted human testing on members of the People’s Liberation Army in hope of developing soldiers with biologically enhanced capabilities,” antagonizing the Chinese Foreign Ministry.  “There are no ethical boundaries to Beijing’s pursuit of power,” Ratcliffe said, conflating China’s aggressive foreign policy with its right to train its military anyway it wants.  Ratcliffe sees that he’s out the door soon, turning reigns over to 78-year-old President-elect Joe Biden Jan. 20, 2021.  “The Peoples Republic of China poses the greatest threat to America today, and the greatest threat to democracy and freedom worldwide since WW II,” Ratcliffe said.  Apart from a few skirmishes in the open seas, there’s no evidence that China has taken one inch of sovereign land like Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Ratcliffe conflates U.S. economic issues with China actions with sovereign states.  

           China’s Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunging called Ratcliffe’s words “fake news” that continued to hurt U.S.-Sino relations.  “We hope that American politicians will respect the facts, stop making and selling fake news, stop fabricating and spreading political viruses and lies and stop damaging Sino-U.S. relations, otherwise it will on further damage the credibility of the United States.  Ratcliffe went all over the map accusing China’s of “biological” manipulation and back to old complaints about China’s theft of intellectual property.  Biden’s foreign policy team led by 56-year-old  Secretary of State Tony Blinken will take a very different approach to China, returning to the pre-Trump era where both sides show a modicum of respect.  Whatever China does with it’s military is there business.  Trump played the China card for whatever it was worth. still losing the Nov. 3. election. 

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

[khasmc]

Saffron

Saffron is a US-based ██████████ organization, whose purpose lies in assisting ethnic communities in the east coast (prioritizing Vietnamese and most Chinese neighborhoods). It has since extended to aiding some preternatural and supernatural loners and strays.

Co-founded by Tony and Gigi.

Their first and primary headquarters is located minutes outside of D.C., so most work is done within the district, stretching over to Baltimore.

Has alliances with numerous support groups and other ██████████ organizations, primarily along the coast.

Branches exist in numerous cities and states and may function as individual entities, although they all still answer to primary headquarters. Some are created in one location for a single purpose.

IMPORTANT

Saffron is not affiliated with crime. If anything, Saffron is anti-crime, protecting the communities where official authorities fail. One may compare it to a neighborhood watch group that extends city lines, as Saffron is community-based first and foremost.

Note1: There are clan members and kin who have been involved in crime for one reason or another, but have since left it behind before joining, as is required.

Note2: This will get updated as needed, but the bottom line is, Saffron does not officially or knowingly associate with criminals or corrupt individuals.

Note3: Lines do blur as life does, so when interacting with the criminal underworld or other external forces, steps are taken very carefully.

SAFFRON CLAN

Founded by two spotted hyenas, both made morphs, Saffron follows a fission-fusion society where members are compact and unified, though they don’t remain together in one place. This hails to the research where spotted hyenas are the most social of the Carnivora, in regards to possessing the largest group size and most complex behaviors, which allows Saffron’s territory to stretch easily along the east coast.

The organization itself structures after baboons and macaques with respect to hierarchical structure and social interaction among kin and unrelated clan-mates. Competition and cooperation is encouraged. As a whole, the clan consists of a number of beast morphs, beastkins, and humans. On a lesser scale, there are also both supernatural and preternatural individuals within the ranks.

Some members have their respective communities where they prefer to stay, but will call upon the clan as needed. Due to some predominant views in Western culture, some refuse to shift fully in public or at all, though this varies within their own specific community where their morph/natural form may be accepted or revered.

A clan member is any individual who joins Saffron in some capacity due to shared beliefs. It may take up to a month before they are officiated, after which Tony will scent-mark them. Those without a corporeal form go through a different process.

Kin refers specifically to those in the Hyaenidae family, but will also include the Carnivora order (primarily caniforms such as dogs, bears, wolves, raccoons). This is defined differently when referring to the human aspect.

Clan members can recognize third-party kin and rank relationships among clan-mates through scenting. They can and will use this during social decision making.

Clan member =/= kin and kin=/= clan member. It’s possible to be both.

BRANCHES

C███ aka Services: Includes but not limited to providing and finding healthcare, family planning, and education for the community. A sub-branch has recently been created to assist clan members. Lead by Gigi.

S████ aka Outreach: Works predominantly with Services to inform the community of various factors that affect their lives and to increase their awareness to take control. Numerous sub-branches work with neighboring associations who assist other marginalized neighborhoods to compromise and collaborate. Also handles territorial disputes as necessary.

B████ aka Treasury: Currently includes charities and donations. Handles all monetary transactions and paperwork. Small sub-branches are created as needed for charity drives and other community outreach such as spreading the word for specific group events.

Poppy aka Surveillance: Members of this branch patrol specific neighborhoods and businesses for any number of reasons. There are a handful of specialized sub-branches that are small in number to keep the work discreet. For example, one particular sub-branch specializes in ████████ and consists only of ██████████ to maintain effectiveness. They are summoned when necessary (Refer to Note2). Lead by Tony.

N█████ aka Transportation: Offers transport/assistance for community members who need to travel or may require accommodations.

█████ aka Administrative: The largest branch, which is in charge of keeping the organization running smooth and is one of the few branches that does not get involved with the community directly.

ASSOCIATIONS

This section will fill out as time goes on, but it’s safe to say Tony holds a good amount of connections due to the networking of the organization itself and his relationship with some of the communities.

Tony covers more of the legwork while Gigi takes care of paperwork and documentation.

Tony’s social circle outside of Saffron is small, extending to Rose, Sophia, and Santos, respectively. Others include @jyargal‘s Dorje, Isra, Rauf, and Kojo on varying levels.

[khasmc]

HOW DO YOU LIKE BEST TO BE LOVED ?

stay with me while the storm is strong

we all need someone sometimes, and you often don't feel like you are worth someone remaining. you are, though. i know that you crave for someone to be there and rest their hand against your back during the bad times. for a loving voice to lull you to sleep with a cadence of compassion and a desire to remain. you just want someone to remain. through and past the bad parts when you know it is difficult. you want to fall asleep to their voice and wake up to them still there in the morning. you want them to know the way that you take your tea and keep a box of your favorite flavor in their pantry in case you have a bad night and need to come over. you want to trust someone enough to give them a key to your house. and you deserve it, love. you deserve for someone to linger. you deserve to place your trust in another and know that they'll help you brush your hair if you're just too tired. you deserve for someone to remain.

Tagged by : @phantombs​ Tagging: Swipe it, ye rogues

[khasmc]

What Tarot Card Are you?

Death

A cheery woman’s voice chimes from above. "Game over! Please restart and try again." The old woman holds a baby in her arms and makes to pass it to you. Will you take it?

Tagged by: @destructiveglitch​​ (Thanks for the tag !) Tagging: Snag it, ya rogues

[khasmc]

🌈🌻

[khasmc]

Where do you hold your love?

Tony

you hold your love in your heart. love is intrinsic, inevitable, love is the beating core of everything; love is also hard to talk about. your love comes out with more rareness, mostly shows up for the big things in a big way- this doesn't mean it doesn't beat for the small stuff, you feel it all, in fact you feel it more intensely than most which is why it's so hard to get out. you hold your love inside you because it matters, it might be the only thing that does.

Rose & Santos

you hold your love on your shoulders; a weight to bear but one you're not crumbling under. love for you is heavy, big- it makes up everything, the world is comprised entirely of love and you know it. this can make you feel smaller than you'd like to, like you have an obligation to be a part of it, or maybe an obligation to create a love so massive it marks itself as different- greater, a task to take upon yourself. but doesn't all love feel different? and isn't all love great?

Sophia

on your tongue. your love is language. it's the way you say goodbye, good morning, how was your day?. love for you is less something to talk about and more something that weaves itself into your speech without permission (and, of course, with it). love comes out of you everyday in the easiest way to understand; what's the point of feeling it if you don't say it? sing it? scream it? it bubbles up and spills over anyway.

[mikemortgage]

Australian election May 18 to be fought on refugees, economy

CANBERRA, Australia — Australia’s prime minister on Thursday called a May 18 election that will be fought on issues including climate change, asylum seekers and economic management.

“We live in the best country in the world,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters after advising the governor-general to authorize the election.

“But to secure your future, the road ahead depends on a strong economy. And that’s why there is so much at stake at this election,” he added.

Morrison’s conservative coalition is seeking a third three-year term. But Morrison is the third prime minister to lead a divided government in that time and only took the helm in late August.

Opinion polls suggest his reign will become one of the shortest in the 118-year history of Australian prime ministers on election day. The polls suggest centre-left opposition leader Bill Shorten will become the eighth prime minister since the country plunged into an extraordinary period of political instability in 2007.

The election pits Shorten, a former labour union leader who has presented himself as the alternative prime minister for the past six years, and Morrison, a leader who the Australian public is still getting to know.

Shorten said in his first news conference since the election was called that his government will take “real action on climate change” and reduce inequality in Australian society if his Labor Party wins power.

“Australians face a real and vital choice at this election. Do you want Labor’s energy, versus the government’s tiredness? Labor’s focus on the future, versus being stuck in the past?” Shorten said.

Morrison is seen as the architect of Australia’s tough refugee policy that has all but stopped the people-smuggling traffic of boats from Southeast Asian ports since 2014. The policy has been condemned by human rights groups as an abrogation of Australia’s responsibilities as a signatory to the United Nations Refugee Convention.

Morrison’s first job in Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s newly elected coalition government in 2013 was as minister for immigration and border protection. He oversaw the secretive military-run Operation Sovereign Borders.

Asylum seekers from the Middle East, Africa and Asia would typically disable or sink their boats when intercepted by patrol ships in waters north of Australia so that the Australian crews would have to rescue them rather than turn the boats away. Under the new regime, the asylum seekers were placed in motorized life boats that were towed back to Indonesia. The life boats had just enough fuel to reach the Indonesian coast. The Indonesian government complained the policy was an affront to Indonesian sovereignty.

The government has also maintained a policy adopted in the final months of a Labor government in 2013 of sending boat arrivals to camps on the Pacific island nations of Papua New Guinea and Nauru. Those who attempt to reach Australia by boat are told they will never be allowed to settle there.

Morrison remains proud of virtually stopping people-smuggler boat traffic. He has a trophy shaped like a people-smuggler’s boat in his office inscribed with “I Stopped These.”

Labor has promised to maintain the policy of banishing boat arrivals to the islands. But Labor says it would give priority to finding permanent homes for the asylum seekers who have languished in island camps for years.

The conservative coalition argues that the boats would start coming again because a Labor government would soften the regime. The government introduced temporary protection visas for boat arrivals so that refugees face potential deportation every three years if the circumstances that they fled in their homelands improve. Labor would give refugees permanent visas so that they have the certainty to plan their lives.

Climate change policy is a political battlefield in a country that is the world’s largest exporter of coal and liquefied natural gas and has been one of the world’s worst greenhouse gas emitters on a per capita basis because of its heavily reliance on coal-fired power generation.

Disagreement over energy policy has been a factor in the last six changes of prime minister.

Labour Prime Minister Julia Gillard introduced a carbon tax in 2012. Conservative Prime Minister Tony Abbott scrapped it two years later.

The coalition is torn between lawmakers who want polluters to pay for their greenhouse gas emissions and those who reject any measures that would increase household power bills.

The government aims to reduce Australian greenhouse gas emissions by 26% to 28% below 2005 levels by 2030.

Labour has promised a more ambitious target of a 45% reduction in the same time frame.

Action on climate change was a major priority for votes when conservative Prime Minister John Howard’s reign ended after more than 11 years at an election in 2007.

Labour Prime Minister Kevin Rudd immediately signed up to the U.N.’s 1997 Kyoto Protocol on reducing emissions. Australia and the United States had been the only industrialized countries to hold out.

Climate change dropped down the list of Australian priorities after the global financial crisis hit.

But after Australians sweltered through a record hot summer and grappled with devastating drought, global warming has become a high-priority issue for voters again.

The government warns that Labor’s emissions reduction plan would wreck the economy.

The coalition also argues that Labor would further damage the economy with its policy of reducing tax breaks for landlords as real estate prices fall in Australia’s largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne.

Morrison boasts that the conservative administration Prime Minister Howard led delivered 10 annual surplus budgets and paid off all federal government debt before the government changed at the 2007 election.

Rudd had planned a budget surplus in his government’s first fiscal year, but the global financial crisis struck.

Many economists congratulate Rudd for keeping the Australian economy out of recession through stimulus spending. The coalition has accused Labor of spending too much and sinking Australia too deep in debt,

But debt has continued to mount since the conservatives regained the reins in 2013. But opinion polls suggest voters consider the conservatives to be better economic managers.

The government brought forward its annual budget blueprint by a month to April 2 and revealed a plan to balance Australia’s books in the next fiscal year for the first time in 12 years.

Labour also promised to deliver a surplus budget in the year starting July 1, but it has yet to detail how it will achieve this goal.

Labour has also promised to spend an additional AU$2.3 billion ($1.6 billion) over four years on covering treatment costs of cancer patients. It’s an attractive offer with half Australia’s population expected to be diagnosed with some form of the disease in their lifetimes.

The conservatives have largely taken credit for Australia’s remarkable run of 28 years of economic growth since its last recession under Labor’s rule.

Morrison hopes that voters will look to him to deliver a sequel to the Howard years when a mining boom delivered ever-increasing budget surpluses.

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