whttevrr
whttevrr's JournalEvery minute, 8 people around the world are forced to flee their homes due to war and persecution.
UNHCR's Representative to Jordan, Andrew Harper, explains the reality for Syrian refugees in Jordan and thanks Syria's neighbors for taking in millions of displaced citizens.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-september-3-2013/exclusive---andrew-harper-extended-interview-pt--1
He also thanks the US for its generosity. This is what Syria needs instead of bombs.
http://www.unrefugees.org
Every minute, 8 people around the world are forced to flee their homes due to war and persecution.
That adds up to 43 million children and their families who have sought safety from the threat of war, persecution, natural disasters, and famine. Many travel hundreds of miles to find security, leaving everything behind -- their homes, their possessions, their livelihoods and even loved ones -- just to save their own lives.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)'s mission is to provide protection, education, shelter, food, water, medical care and life-saving assistance to some 34.5 million refugees and forcibly displaced people worldwide.
Since its formation in 1950, UNHCR has helped an estimated 50 million refugees restart their lives, receiving 2 Nobel Peace Prizes for its lifesaving work in some of the world's most dangerous regions. The agency is the lead humanitarian organization on the scene, with 6,000 staff members in 126 countries around the world.
UNHCR depends on voluntary contributions from people like you to provide these critical refugee assistance programs. With your support to USA for UNHCR, we can ensure that innocent men, women, and children receive the help they need.
A question about Syria: Is this a religious civil war?
And it's corollary: Should The USA be tasked with policing a religious fight?
Sorry, no links... But I do recall reading that Syria accepted all Muslim refugees into their country and gave them a subsidy until they could find employment. The majority of the influx was Sunni Muslims form Iraq. Iran backs the Shiite faction of Muslims that are in power in Syria; they are the Alawis.
If these statements are incorrect please let me know. If they are correct, how do we justify imposing our will in a religious civil war?
I do understand that chemical weapons are an atrocity, but how do our bombs help the survivors of a chemical agent attack? Shouldn't we send doctors instead of bombs? Or am I being too Pollyanna?
"In a democracy, the law should never be secret."
This quote: "In a democracy, the law should never be secret."
is from this article: http://www.aclu.org/blog/free-speech-national-security/edward-snowden-whistleblower
How come this is not said more?
I had several conversations with some co workers that just floored me recently. One said: "Why haven't they killed that guy yet?" I was flabbergasted. This person was angry. He wanted Snowden dead... And another said... "The 4th Amendment was written in a different time. Things have changed. With all this digital stuff we need to change it."
I won't even get into the one who said: "The 4th? Which one is that?"
Of these three people one is furious and wants to either drone Snowden or send Seal Team 6 out for him. Another is thinking we need to change our 4th Amendment to accommodate the times. And the third is pretty much oblivious and unconcerned.
I myself never suspected there was anything unknown about my activities online. Maybe average joes/janes would be stymied by a username other than my actual name. But everything I do on the internet I have always suspected could be referenced in some database. The whole nature of it is about identification. I have to identify myself to the cable company to get an IP Address that identifies my traffic on the Internet. In order for information to travel from one point to another each point must be uniquely identified. Why? Because how else will the information get from one point to another without getting mixed up with all the other information that it travels with. I was just kind of hoping that no one was actually storing that information from all its disparate locations and indexing it in a searchable database.
I'm not doing anything wrong. But it's creepy. And, some of the things I look for could be suspect. I saw a Breaking Bad episode where the guy made exploding rock candy. I looked it up. Briefly. I did not want to leave tracks. I stymied my curiosity out of fear.
In grade school my teachers taught me how people died to give us a Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and Freedom. Then in High School they made me read The Scarlet Letter, The Crucible, and 1984. WTF!? Sadists. I was hoping for maybe a more Brave New World'ish kind of dystopia. I mean, at least there would be Soma and sex. Instead what we are seeing is the increasingly real possibility that we are heading towards 1984.
That sucks. I don't want a rat in a cage on my head.
I think 'probable cause' should be sacrosanct. I don't think the government should be able to just look at anyone's activity in a blanket sweep and then decide if there is probable cause to look further. And I certainly do not want some private contractor to be handling such things. I just wish more people were informed.
And, I too think that "In a democracy, the law should never be secret."
Should there be "Secret Laws" in a Democracy?
Anyone know how to do a letter writing campaign?
Does anyone know how to get people to write letters to speaker John Boehner?
It would be nice if people would give the speaker their thoughts on his continued intransigence. He spoke of compromise the other day and then today he said asking people making over 200K to pay an extra nickel in taxes was the wrong thing to do. I would love for everyone who voted for President Obama to call or mail a letter to the speaker.
How do people get those kind of viral campaigns going?
How can we the people send him the speaker a message?
Maybe something like this:
Please save America from the far right wing partisanship of your party. We the American Citizens voted for President Obama. We want you to work with him to better our country. 98% of Small Business Owners do not earn more than 200K. Why must everyone suffer for the 2-3% of this country?
Where is your pride in patriotism? Why won't you follow the will of the people?
Now is the time for you to be a hero. Show some strength. Corral your party zealots and speak to the middle. If you took the lead, and spoke to 3/4's of your party, you could be the one who is credited with leading America into the 21st Century. Is your loyalty pledged to the American People or Grover Norquist?
Please Mr. Speaker, Speak up for your country and not just for your party.
Thank you in advance for your consideration.
A Concerned Voter.
Contact the Speaker
Office of the Speaker
H-232 The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-0600
Fax: (202) 225-5117
The 47% video, Romney, Global-Tech, Sankaty, and Sensata?
"Dear Mr. Romney, What About Global Tech?"
When everywhere it was being said that Romney left Bain in 99; there was the article in Mother Jones by David Corn:
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/bain-capital-mitt-romney-outsourcing-china-global-tech
I cannot believe that was only July... seems like last year. But Romney's excuse was that he left Bain in 99 and here is an article that says something about 1998:
"On April 17, 1998, Brookside Capital Partners Fund, a Bain Capital affiliate, filed a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission noting that it had acquired 6.13 percent of Hong Kong-based Global-Tech Appliances, which manufactured household appliances in a production facility in the industrial city of Dongguan, China. That August, according to another SEC filing, Brookside upped its interest in Global-Tech to 10.3 percent. Both SEC filings identified Romney as the person in control of this investment: "Mr. W. Mitt Romney is the sole shareholder, sole director, President and Chief Executive Officer of Brookside Inc. and thus is the controlling person of Brookside Inc." Each of these documents was signed by Domenic Ferrante, a managing director of Brookside and Bain"
Plus, diving deeper into the SEC filings one could find this:
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1028348/0000927016-99-001166.txt
"Page 5 of 8
As of the close of business on March 25, 1999, the Sankaty Fund owned 48,000 shares of Common Stock of the Company. The Sankaty Fund has the sole power to vote and dispose of the shares of Common Stock. The Sankaty Fund acts by and through its general partner, Sankaty Investors. Sankaty Investors acts by and through its managing member, Sankaty Ltd. Mr. W. Mitt Romney is the sole shareholder, a director, and President of Sankaty Ltd. and thus is the controlling person of Sankaty Ltd. No person other than the respective owner referred to herein of shares of Common Stock is known to have the right to receive or the power to direct the receipt of dividends from or the proceeds from the sale of such shares of Common Stock."
Hello!? Sankaty is Mitt Romney's private high yield fund that was in his 2010 Tax returns! Sankaty has been around since 99 if not longer. But Romney was definitely putting his outsourcing ducks all in a row in 1999.
I've catalogued some of the connections here: http://whateverworks4you.blogspot.com/2012/07/dear-mr-romney-what-about-global-tech.html
And, I have tried to keep the information alive. But I just don't know how to get traction in a mega traffic world of 24 hour news cycles. Someone posted earlier that the Romney Bishop Abortion Consoling: American Horror Story Fiasco, was news to them. It seems as if what is old news to many is actually unknown to most of the voting public.
I can only imagine that if more people knew about this 14 year Global-Tech to Sensata thread, that starts with Global-Tech in 1998 and weaves through the decade to come out embroidered into today's narrative, if more people knew, they would recoil in horror. Wouldn't they?
Mitt Romney has been outsourcing jobs since the 90's. His 'blind Trust'* is still profiting from Sensata, which will close it's factory here in America on November 5th. And somehow the horror of the factory that is explained in his 47% video is not being told. That factory was Global-Tech. And the company he is still profiting from today is going to be doing the same thing for as long as it can.
My thoughts get to be rambling and snarky at times. But I have seen some clearly laid out writing here that I am sure someone could use to translate this information into a pithy piece that connects the dots from Romney making money on Global-Tech's Slave Factory to the hidden interlinks of Sankaty, mitt's taxes, and how it culminates in yet another factory(Sensata) being shipped off to China on November 5th.
Anyone know a steely eyed reporter that would be willing to ask:
"Dear Mr. Romney, What About Global Tech?"
http://whateverworks4you.blogspot.com/2012/07/dear-mr-romney-what-about-global-tech.html
Just curious, ya know?
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