July 21, 2016

Ann Coulter warns California Republicans the nation could turn into California

Conservative author and TV personality Ann Coulter warned California Republicans on Wednesday that the nation could become like California if Donald Trump is not elected president in the fall.

“Trump’s slogan is make America great again. Hillary’s slogan is make America California without the nice beaches, without the good stuff,” Ann Coulter told the state’s delegates at a breakfast meeting.

“You’re always ahead of the curve," Coulter said. "You sent us two of our greatest presidents, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. And now a Republican can’t get elected statewide in California. That is because of immigration. This is why Trump’s campaign is absolutely crucial.”

Coulter, who was applauded by the Californians, contended the influx of immigrants over the past four decades had given Democrats an edge, and that the Republican establishment betrayed its base of supporters on immigration and trade issues.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/trailguide/la-na-republican-convention-2016-live-trump-s-slogan-is-make-america-great-1469032456-htmlstory.html

Turn the rest of the nation into California? And that's a bad thing?

July 21, 2016

A U.S. consumer panned a Chinese product on Amazon. Then things got crazy

E-commerce is bringing buyers and sellers together across borders like never before — but it’s not all smooth sailing. Just ask Mathew Garrett of Oakland.

Garrett, who works in IT security, bought an Internet-connected power socket last month from a Chinese vendor called AuYou on Amazon. After trying out the $30 gadget, which can turn on and off other electronic devices using one’s cellphone as a remote, he had some security concerns. So he wrote an 800-word review on Amazon and gave the product one star.

He thought that would be the end of the story. But a few hours later, he started to receive emails from an employee of AuYou asking him to take down the negative review.

In the first email, the employee, who called herself Amy Lee, wrote in imperfect English, “Just now my boss has blamed me, and he said if I do not remove this bad review, he will quit me. Please help me, my dear friend. Could you change your bad review into good? Thank you very very much.”

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-amazon-china-review-20160720-snap-story.html

July 21, 2016

Musk reveals Tesla 'Master Plan': Trucks, buses and ride sharing

Source: LA Times

Elon Musk revealed Part 2 of his “master product plan” for Tesla on Wednesday evening.

In a blog post published on Tesla's website, Musk introduced a multi-year, four-pronged strategy that includes new kinds of Tesla vehicles, expanded solar initiatives, updates on Tesla’s Autopilot technology and a ride-sharing program.

Some surmised that the timing of the announcement was a way for Musk to distract from recent headlines that have raised concerns about Tesla’s Autopilot function and its troubles hitting vehicle-delivery targets.

Commercial trucks, buses, a “future compact SUV” and a “new kind of pickup truck” will be added to Tesla’s fleet of electric cars. A heavy-duty truck called the Tesla Semi and a shrunken bus that Musk called a “high passenger density urban transport” vehicle are in early development stages “and should be ready for unveiling next year,” he said.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-musk-master-plan-20160714-snap-story.html

July 21, 2016

RNC breaks precedent with explicitly partisan prayer

After telling attendees of the Republican National Convention that “Our enemy is not other Republicans but is Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party,” a South Carolina pastor offered the most explicitly partisan prayer heard at a major party convention in modern times.

Pastor Mark Burns, a prosperity preacher and televangelist from Easley, S.C., was invited by the Trump campaign to deliver the Monday benediction that concluded the contentious daytime proceedings on the first day of the RNC in Cleveland. “We are electing a man in Donald Trump who believes in the name of Jesus Christ,” Burns told delegates, before closing his eyes in prayer.

The benediction itself, which included Burns’ praise to God for “giving [Trump] the words to unite this party, this country, that we together can defeat the liberal Democratic Party,” was immediately denounced on Twitter by liberal and conservative Christians who called it “blasphemous” and “idolatrous.”

Shortly after Burns left the stage in Cleveland, the Interfaith Alliance issued a statement calling his benediction “inappropriate” and declaring that “invoking religion to launch such attacks devalues faith.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pastor-mark-burns-rnc-trump-000000245.html

I really despise these assholes.

July 20, 2016

Venezuela’s Middle Class Forced to Drain Their Savings to Stockpile Food Amid Crisis

Tebie Gonzalez and Ramiro Ramirez still have their sleek apartment, a fridge covered with souvenir magnets from vacations abroad, and closets full of name brand clothes. But they feel hunger drawing near.

So when the Venezuelan government opened the long-closed border with Colombia this weekend, the couple decided to drain what remained of the savings they put away before the country spun into economic crisis and stock up on food. They left their two young sons with relatives and joined more than 100,000 other Venezuelans trudging across what Colombian officials are calling a “humanitarian corridor” to buy as many basic goods as possible.

“This is money we had been saving for an emergency, and this is an emergency,” Ramirez said. “It’s scary to spend it, but we’re finding less food each day and we need to prepare for what’s coming.”

Gonzalez, 36, earns several times the minimum wage with her job as a sales manager for a chain of furniture stores in the western mountain town of San Cristobal. But lately, her salary is no match for Venezuela’s 700 percent inflation. Ramirez’s auto parts shop went bust after President Nicolas Maduro closed the border with Colombia a year ago, citing uncontrolled smuggling, and cut off the region’s best avenue for imported goods.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/venezuela-middle-class-forced-drain-061842073.html

July 18, 2016

Hunter hires law firm amid campaign review

After months of questions about personal use of campaign funds, Rep. Duncan Hunter’s campaign committee has hired a law firm that specializes in political law, according to financial reports released Friday.

Hunter, R-Alpine, has already reimbursed his campaign account for $12,000 of expenses he identified as personal or mistaken on campaign finance reports, including video games, oral surgery, private school tuition, a garage door and unspecified items at a Coronado surf shop.

Federal law does not allow use of campaign funds for personal expenses, to protect against contributors such as defense contractors from having undue influence on someone like Hunter, who is on the House Armed Services Committee.

The San Diego Union-Tribune first reported on the expenditures in April, when the Federal Election Commission sent the campaign a letter questioning payments to Hunter’s children’s private school and a video game website.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/jul/18/hunter-law-firm/

This slimeball is Trump's House Leadership Committee co-chair.

July 18, 2016

Strokes Could Be Prevented in 90 Percent of Cases, Study Says

Nine out of 10 strokes are preventable, according a global study that shines light on one of the world's leading causes of death and disability.

New research published Friday in The Lancet confirms 10 risk factors that can be modified account for 90 percent of strokes -- which occur when an area of the brain loses blood flow -- across the world. The study, dubbed INTERSTROKE, examined nearly 27,000 people in 32 countries across all continents, building on the breadth of an earlier version of the study that identified the same 10 risk factors.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is the leading risk factor; others include physical inactivity, obesity, stress, diabetes and a poor diet.

Researchers looked at the proportion of strokes per factor and quantified them through population attributable risk factors. This means that for each one of these 10 risk factors, there's a corresponding percentage of reduced stroke risk if one risk factor didn't exist. For example, without hypertension, a person's stroke risk is down 47.9 percent; 35.8 percent reduction for physical inactivity; and 23.2 percent reduction for poor diet. Since many of these risks can overlap, when added together, this translates to a 90.7 percent reduction probability. This was comparable for each region studied and all age ranges in both men and women.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/strokes-could-prevented-90-percent-cases-study-says-173330241.html

July 18, 2016

Republicans are rocking out to "My Sharona"

Sheesh.

July 18, 2016

Newt Gingrich Says Bushes Acting 'Childishly' and Need to 'Get Over' Jeb's Loss

Newt Gingrich accused the Bush family of behaving “childishly” by skipping this week’s Republican National Convention and refusing to endorse Donald Trump.

The former speaker of the House, who was widely considered one of the top three vice presidential contenders for Trump, made the comments today on “Good Morning America” in Cleveland, where the convention kicks off.

“The reason people nominated Donald Trump is because they weren’t happy and, frankly, I think the Bushes are behaving childishly,” Gingrich told George Stephanopoulos on “GMA.” “Jeb lost. Get over it.”

Former President George H.W. Bush and his son former President George W. Bush have no plans to endorse Trump, their spokespeople told ABC News in May.

https://gma.yahoo.com/newt-gingrich-advises-childishly-acting-bush-family-over-114811457--abc-news-topstories.html

July 17, 2016

Thousands cross Venezuela border shopping for scarce food

Source: AP

Tens of thousands of Venezuelans, some of whom drove through the night in caravans, crossed the border into Colombia on Sunday to hunt for food and medicine that are in short supply at home.

It's the second weekend in a row that Venezuela's socialist government has opened the long-closed border connecting Venezuela to Colombia, and by 6 a.m., a line of would-be shoppers snaked through the entire town of San Antonio del Tachira. Some had traveled in chartered buses from cities 8 hours away.

Venezuela's government closed all crossings a year ago to crack down on smuggling along the 1,378-mile (2,219 kilometer) border. It complained that speculators were causing shortages by buying up subsidized food and gasoline in Venezuela and taking them to Colombia, where they could be sold for far higher prices.

But shortages have continued to mount in Venezuela amid triple-digit inflation, currency controls that have restricted imports and investment and a collapse in the oil prices that fund government spending.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/thousands-cross-venezuela-border-shopping-scarce-food-121334987.html

---

It's a sad situation when the political authorities continue to adhere to obviously failed economic policies that exacerbate the real suffering experienced by the population.