JBMedia World News

Saturday, July 5, 2014

US 'profoundly troubled' by American's beating in Israeli custody - Yahoo News

US 'profoundly troubled' by American's beating in Israeli custody - Yahoo News
JohnButts@JBMedia Reports:
A "profoundly troubled" United States condemned reports Saturday that an American teenager detained in
Israel was "severely beaten" while in police custody, amid heightened tensions with Palestinians.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Senate Race Conference Call Spins Into Complete Disaster After Questioner Asks About 'Harvesting Black Votes' - Yahoo Finance

Senate Race Conference Call Spins Into Complete Disaster After Questioner Asks About 'Harvesting Black Votes' - Yahoo Finance
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
A Thad Cochran campaign call Wednesday afternoon tumbled into disaster when a questioner asked why

the Cochran campaign was "harvesting black people" for votes.

The call was held to push back against claims from the campaign of Mississippi state Sen. Chris McDaniel, Cochran's intra-party challenger who contends he won last week's Republican primary runoff election illegitimately by courting the votes of Democrats and African-Americans.

But the call was quickly hijacked by callers who later referred to themselves as supporters of McDaniel. One repeatedly interrupted Cochran campaign adviser Austin Barbour. "Quick question," said the caller, who did not identify himself. "Since black people harvested cotton, why is it OK to harvest their votes? Why is it OK to harvest the votes of black people?"

After Barbour largely ignored the question, the questioner asked again: "If black people were harvesting cotton, why do you think it's OK to harvest their votes?" This finally triggered a response from Barbour.

"Sir, I don't know where you're calling from, but I'm happy to address any question, no matter the lunacy of it," Barbour said.

But the questioner continued to press, insistent on derailing the call.

"Why did you use black people? Why did you use black people to try to get Cochran elected when they're not even Republicans? You're treating them as if they're just idiots, that they'll just vote for Cochran just
because they're black. Why did you harvest black votes?"

This was when Barbour decided to end the call — or at least end his participation. He urged members of the national media to call or email him or Cochran campaign spokesman Jordan Russell. Another questioner
butted in to attempt to ask a "legitimate question," as he called it. Barbour, though, hung up in the process of him asking the question, even as a woman shouted, "Let him talk!"

A source in the Cochran campaign pointed blame for the call's chaos on Charles C. Johnson, the conservative blogger who has launched accusations against the Cochran campaign and other Mississippi
Republicans. On Monday, Johnson posted an interview Monday night with an African-American man who described himself as pastor in Mississippi who claimed he bribed black voters to turn out and vote for Cochran. But the interview came with the disclosure that the pastor was paid for his participation, which raised doubts about his claims.

Fifteen minutes before the press call was scheduled to start, Johnson tweeted the call's details to his nearly 6,000 followers.

It wasn't clear if Johnson was the one who actually asked the question on the call. The call didn't end when Barbour hung up. Callers lingered, chatting with each other. Some wondered if the Cochran campaign had planted the interruption to make McDaniel supporters appear racist. Others wondered if it was President Barack Obama's doing. At one point, callers played Obama soundboards back and forth at each other. One person noted how it was blowing up on Twitter, because "BuzzFeed retweeted this!"

The call went on for at least another half hour after Barbour ended the Cochran campaign's participation.

McDaniel announced Wednesday he was forming an "Election Challenge Fund" to contest what he considered a "corrupt" election. His campaign claims they have already found more than 3,300 voting "irregularities," but it has produced no hard evidence. " Put up or shut up. If they have hard evidence, bring it forward," Barbour said on the conference call before it descended into chaos.

Monday, June 23, 2014

Judge strikes down Montana immigrant law - Yahoo News

Judge strikes down Montana immigrant law - Yahoo News
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
A Montana judge struck down most of a 2012 voter-approved law requiring government officials to conduct
immigration checks on anybody seeking services provided by the state — from unemployment benefits to crime-victim assistance.

The law, which aims to deny government jobs and assistance to people in the U.S. illegally, required Montana agencies to check legal status when a person applied for any state service. If the person was not in the country legally, the agency must turn over the name to federal immigration officials.

The ruling is the latest test of a law approved during a wave of immigration crackdowns nationwide. Last week, a federal judge in Utah upheld part of a 2011 law in that state that allows authorities to check the citizenship of those stopped for traffic infractions — within certain limits — but struck down other provisions, such as warrantless arrests on suspicion of immigration status.

In Montana, nearly 80 percent of voters approved the state's law in a 2012 referendum, but it has not been enforced since an immigration-rights group filed a legal challenge.

District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock of Helena said in his Friday order that it conflicts with federal immigration laws by attempting to regulate immigration, which is exclusively a federal power.

The law, known as Legislative Referendum 121, makes up its own definition of "illegal alien" that is not defined in federal law, Sherlock said. That means state officials would be making their own determination of immigration status, which should only be done by authorized federal agents, he said.

"This is the crux of the problem with the enactment," Sherlock wrote in the order.

Sherlock allowed one provision of the law to stand, saying it doesn't conflict with federal law. It requires state officials to report to immigration officials the name of a person who is not in the U.S. legally.

Attorney Shahid Haque-Hausrath, who challenged the law on behalf of the Montana Immigrant Justice Alliance, said the reporting provision shouldn't matter as long as the rest of the law is struck down.

"That shouldn't be of any significance because agencies won't be screening or asking any questions," Haque-Hausrath said Monday. "That was the heart of LR 121."

State attorneys just received the ruling Monday and no decision has been made on whether to appeal, Montana Department of Justice spokesman John Barnes said.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Prospect of new Iraq fight turns hawks into doves - Yahoo News

Prospect of new Iraq fight turns hawks into doves - Yahoo News
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
The prospect of the U.S. military returning to the fight in Iraq has turned congressional hawks into doves.

Related Stories

Lawmakers who eagerly voted to authorize military force 12 years ago to oust Saddam Hussein and destroy weapons of mass destruction that were never found now harbor doubts that air strikes will turn back insurgents threatening Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government and Baghdad.

Fears of Mideast quagmire and weariness after a decade of conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan loom large for even those who talk tough on national security. More than 6,000 Americans died in those wars, which cost a
trillion dollars.

As President Barack Obama mulls his next step, there is little unanimity in Congress on what the United States should do despite some Republican voices — most notably Sen. John McCain — loudly calling for air strikes and stepped-up military action. The sectarian violence between the pro-government Shiites and Sunnis adds to congressional uncertainty.

Obama will discuss the situation in Iraq with House and Senate leaders of both parties at the White House Wednesday. State Department and Pentagon officials will hold closed-doors briefings with lawmakers over the next couple of days.

"Where will it lead and will that be the beginning or the end?" Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said, when asked about air strikes. "We don't know that. This underlying conflict has been going on 1,500 years between the Shias and the Sunnis and their allies. And I think whatever we do, it's not going to go away."

Shelby was one of the 77 Senate Republicans and Democrats who voted to give President George W. Bush the authority to wage war. Casting the strong bipartisan vote on Oct. 11, 2002 were Democratic Sens. Joe Biden of Delaware, Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Harry Reid of Nevada.

"After a decade of war, we've all had enough," said Reid, the Senate majority leader.

"It was one of the worst votes I ever cast," added Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, another who voted yes. Asked about what the vote means more than a decade later as the U.S. ponders intervention anew, Harkin said: "It is weighing heavily on my mind."

But Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., who also voted for use of force in 2002, said that vote would have no effect on her thinking this time. She declined to say if she supported military action. Sen. Chuck Schumer of
New York, another Democrat who authorized military action in Iraq the last time, also wouldn't give his opinion.

Senators from both parties appeared almost unanimous in their view that al-Maliki should leave power, even as many called for assistance to his government in battling the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant insurgency.

ISIL has conquered several cities in Syria and Iraq. The administration is sending almost 300 American forces in and around Iraq to help secure U.S. assets.

"I support almost anything that would curtail" ISIL, said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. "That's a very dangerous situation."

McCain, who spoke by telephone over the weekend with White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, said not many forces would be needed for an effective operation in Iraq and they'd only be for close air support. He said no combat troops are needed, but some personnel should be on the ground to identify targets for air strikes.

"That would be a handful of probably special forces, forward air controller people," he said, expressing frustration that the administration hasn't done more.

Among the newer senators, Mark Kirk, R-Ill., expressed support for air strikes, but Tim Scott, R-S.C., had his doubts.

"The president's comments about he doesn't know who to strike doesn't give me 'a warm and fuzzy,'" Scott said. "The option should remain on the table, but clarity should come first so that I can have an understanding
and appreciation. If they don't have an understanding and appreciation, I certainly don't have one."

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who voted for the war authorization in 2002, wanted to learn more about the administration's plan.

"The question is whether air strikes can be targeted enough that they don't kill innocent people," she said.

The Senate's top Republican, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said Obama must offer a strategy and act quickly to provide the Iraqi government with assistance before "every gain made by the U.S. and allied troops is lost." He didn't outline a specific course of action.

Friday, June 6, 2014

Ukraine Military Aircraft Shot Down Over Slovyansk | Watch the video - Yahoo News

Ukraine Military Aircraft Shot Down Over Slovyansk | Watch the video - Yahoo News

JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
http://news.yahoo.com/video/ukraine-military-aircraft-shot-down-165835356.html

Pro-Russian separatists posted videos purportedly showing the shooting
down of a Ukrainian military reconnaissance plane flying over Slovyansk
on June 6. Some details of their claims appear in local news reports.
Other reports said the Antonov-30 plane was steered away from
Slovyansk’s city center to make a crash landing in nearby woods. This
video shows the burning plane freefalling to the ground. Ukraine has now
confirmed a plane was shot down Credit: VK/ArtemKachin

Taliban Says Bergdahl Deal Means More Kidnappings - Yahoo Finance

Taliban Says Bergdahl Deal Means More Kidnappings - Yahoo Finance
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
TIME Magazine featured a chilling interview with an Haqqani network-affiliated Taliban commander who was intimately involved in negotiations with the U.S. over the release of Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. The takeaway: More kidnappings are “definitely” to come as a result of the deal.
Related Stories

“It’s better to kidnap one person like Bergdahl than kidnapping hundreds of useless people,” the unnamed commander told TIME by telephone. “It has encouraged our people. Now everybody will work hard to capture such an important bird.”

Related: Bergdahl Fallout Signals Obama’s Risky Strategy

Amidst great debate on whether or not the deal should have happened at all are lingering questions about whether Sgt. Bergdahl was a deserter. Although Bergdahl himself has yet to give his side of the story, questions remain unanswered about what exactly Bergdahl was doing off base the night he was captured by the Taliban.

According to The New York Times, a classified military report on the night Bergdahl wandered off base in
June 2009 says this wasn’t the first time. In fact, the roughly 35-page report says that he’d wandered off from both a training range in California and from his outpost in Afghanistan before returning back to his assigned area. The report concludes that Bergdahl likely did so on his own free will in the dark of night.

Perhaps more important is what the report leaves out. There is no stated conclusion as to whether or not the then Private Bergdahl had any intention to officially desert.

Related: Susan Rice Is the Biggest Loser in Bergdahl Affair
Nonetheless, the price tag for bringing America’s only living prisoner of war home to U.S. soil wasn’t cheap. On May 31^st, the United States released five top-level Taliban commanders from Guantanamo Bay, sending them to Qatar to live under a form of house arrest.

Some believe the deal, executed by President Obama by executive order and which Obama makes “no apologies” for, sets a dangerous precedent. Not surprisingly, the loudest criticism has come from Republicans on Capitol Hill.

“What does this tell terrorists?,” Republican Senator Ted Cruz asked on ABC’s This Week following Bergdahl’s release. “That if you capture a U.S. soldier, you can trade that soldier for five terrorist prisoners?”

After hearing announcement of the deal on Saturday, Sen. John McCain criticized President Obama’s decision, calling it a “mistake.”

Related: Did the U.S. Trade 5 Taliban Terrorists for an Army Deserter?

On Sunday, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers cited the deal as a clear “break with U.S. policy.” During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” the Michigan Congressman said, “The No. 1 way that Al Qaeda raises money is by ransom — kidnapping and ransom. We have now set a price.”

The two-and-a-half year back-and-fourth has resulted in the first prisoner exchange between the Taliban and the United States. And it marks an important—and very public—shift in White House policy. The deal was
ultimately given the green light by the president who once vowed, “We don’t negotiate with terrorists.”

Monday, May 26, 2014

Lawmaker: Gay State Rep. Mike Fleck Should Have Stayed In The Closet

Lawmaker: Gay State Rep. Mike Fleck Should Have Stayed In The Closet
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
An openly gay Pennsylvania lawmaker will likely lose his seat this week, just days after the state became the 19th to allow same-sex marriage.

Mike Fleck (R) was first elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2006. In 2012, he came out as gay. According to one of his Republican colleagues, the move was a huge political mistake.

Pennsylvania State Senator John H. Eichelberger Jr. told the Altoona Mirror that "if [Fleck] had just gone about his business and people thought he was a homosexual or heterosexual or whatever, there wouldn't be a
problem."

Eichelberger said that many people thought Fleck was gay prior to his coming out and weren't bothered by it.
"A lot of people thought that Mike was a homosexual," Eichelberger said. "He didn't announce it and it was OK. The feeling from many people is, he put them in a very uncomfortable position" by coming out.

The blog Raging Chicken Press first pointed out the quote on Sunday.
In an earlier post on Facebook, Fleck said that he always knew coming out could affect his political career.

I am gay. I don’t wear it on my sleeve, it doesn’t define who I am, and quite frankly it’s the least interesting part about me. Nevertheless, I knew that when I came out this race would be nothing more, nothing less than whether my constituency could wrap their mind around the fact that I was a gay man. People fear that which is different.
The final results of the election will likely be announced on Tuesday.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

The GOP civil war is over... and the tea party won? - The Week

The GOP civil war is over... and the tea party won? - The Week
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
Last night's GOP Senate primary in North Carolina was billed as a surrogate battle in the Republican Civil War between the establishment and grassroots. But it ended up being more of a surrender than a battle.
And since establishment candidate Thom Tillis easily trounced his two grassroots conservative opponents, it would be easy to declare today that the tea party is toast.

The truth is probably more complicated than that. In fact, if the tea party didn't show up, or put up much of a fight, it might be because they already won the war. I'll let The Atlantic's Molly Ball explain:

[I]f Tillis represented the Republican establishment — something he
denies, of course; it is not a label anyone embraces — he also represents
the party's new, post-Tea Party mainstream. He was endorsed by National
Right to Life and the National Rifle Association. As House speaker
during a time when Republicans took over North Carolina's government
for the first time since 1896, he oversaw a dramatic slate of rightward
policies, from tax cuts to voter ID, that he terms a "conservative
revolution."

It was hard for opponents to paint Tillis as a liberal when actual liberals
were picketing his initiatives on the steps of the statehouse in Raleigh on
a regular basis. If this race is any indication, the "Republican civil war"
storyline so beloved of pundits in recent years may have to be retired...
[The Atlantic]

The theory goes like this: In the beginning, the GOP establishment had grown old and fat and corrupt, and the tea party bench was full of young and talented and pure candidates. And so, when quality candidates
like former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio and former Rep. and Club for Growth head Pat Toomey challenged moderate GOP candidates like then-Gov. Charlie Crist (Fla.) and then-Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) — both of whom later became Democrats — it was like picking low-hanging fruit.

But there are only so many Rubios and Toomeys (and only so many Crists and Specters). So it gets increasingly harder to replicate this success. The well of quality tea party candidates goes dry, and eventually, you're scraping the bottom. What's more, the early victories send a message to the old guard that they'd better clean up their act.

And so, the tea party message gets co-opted by the establishment — which, for tea party conservatives, ought to be cause for celebration; incumbents who want to survive either get religion, or get ousted.

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Middle school teacher provides ‘full-contact’ lap dance in front of class for birthday boy - Yahoo News

Middle school teacher provides ‘full-contact’ lap dance in front of class for birthday boy - Yahoo News
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
Prosecutors in Houston, Texas charged a middle school teacher because she gave a full-on lap dance to a

boy for his birthday in front of an entire class of no-doubt impressed
preteens.

The teacher, Felicia Smith, staged the lap dance in her classroom at Stovall Middle School on February 26, reports local CBS affiliate KHOU. When police interviewed the unnamed student, he said Smith, 42, had seductively placed a school chair in front of the classroom after the tardy bell rang. Music began to play – from some undisclosed source – and several students in the class began yelling raucously that the birthday boy should sit down in the chair.

Once the kid sat down, the fortysomething teacher gave him what was perhaps his first full-contact lap dance. According to a police report, Smith did the thing where she turned around and swiveled her butt on the middle school student. She rubbed her hands all over his body. She also got down on her knees and
stuck her head between the boy’s legs.

It’s not clear if the kid enjoyed the lap dance. However, he admitted that he did slap Smith’s ass a couple times.

The incident lasted a little over three-and-a-half minutes — presumably the duration of the song that was
playing. It’s not clear which song was chosen for the special occasion. At the end of the lap dance, Smith hugged the boy and told him, “I love you, baby. Happy birthday,” according to KHOU.

When police questioned Smith, she said she provided the lap dance at the urging of students in the class. She noted that she almost fell down a few times while performing the acrobatics required of the lap dance.

Somebody – it’s not clear who – apparently filmed the spectacle. The Harris County district attorney and
the Aldine, Texas police department both have copies of the video. Smith faces a single criminal charge: improper relationship with student. She is free on a $30,000 bond. A statement released by the local

school district explained that Smith “was removed from the campus during the investigation and has not returned.”

It’s not clear if she is still being paid while her criminal case meanders through the court system.

Monday, April 14, 2014

APNewsBreak: Russian jet passes near US warship - Yahoo News

APNewsBreak: Russian jet passes near US warship - Yahoo News
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
A Russian fighter jet made multiple, close-range passes near an American warship in the Black Sea for more than 90 minutes Saturday amid escalating tensions in the region, U.S. military officials said Monday.

Thursday, April 10, 2014

A Fed-Up Eric Holder Goes After Congress: ‘Unprecedented, Unwarranted, Ugly and Divisive’ - ABC News

A Fed-Up Eric Holder Goes After Congress: ‘Unprecedented, Unwarranted, Ugly and Divisive’ - ABC News
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
A fed-up Attorney General Eric Holder is accusing congressional critics of launching “unprecedented, unwarranted, ugly and divisive” attacks on him and the Obama administration.

During a speech to the National Action Network in New York on Wednesday lauding the organization’s effort to advance racial equality, a heated Holder went a little off-script.

“Forget about me [specifically]. Look at the way the attorney general of the United States was treated yesterday by a House committee,” Holder told the crowd. “What attorney general has ever had to deal with
that kind of treatment? What president has ever had to deal with that kind of treatment?”

The remarks drew loud applause from the crowd.

On Tuesday, while testifying before a House panel, Holder engaged in a testy back-and-forth with two of his most outspoken Republican antagonists. One accused Holder of violating federal law and questioned
whether he should even be allowed to testify before lawmakers, while Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, seemed to threaten Holder with another contempt citation and angrily told Holder he didn’t need to be lectured by the nation’s top law enforcement official.

On Wednesday, with a finger raised, Holder told the crowd in New York that his tenure as attorney general has been “defined by significant strides … even in the face of unprecedented, unwarranted, ugly and divisive adversity.”

The day before, after Gohmert ran out of time to ask questions, Holder leaned into the microphone in front of him and wished Gohmert “good luck with your asparagus.” It was a not-so-subtle dig at Gohmert’s flub last year when he warned Holder not to “cast aspersions on my asparagus.”

Holder has had a tense relationship with several Republican lawmakers since the Republican-led House held him in contempt of Congress two years ago for failing to turn over certain documents tied to the Fast and Furious scandal involving botched firearms sting operations despite a congressional subpoena seeking those documents.

In asking Holder on Tuesday about the Justice Department’s refusal to turn over documents in an unrelated terrorism case, Gohmert again raised the issue of contempt, saying, “I realize that contempt is not a big deal to our attorney general, but it is important that we have proper oversight.”

A visibly upset Holder, leaning back in his chair, shot back, “You don’t want to go there, buddy. You don’t want to go there, OK?”

“You should not assume that that is not a big deal to me,” Holder added, pointing a finger toward the congressman. “I think it was inappropriate. I think it was unjust. But never think that was not a big deal to me. Don’t ever think that.”

Gohmert pressed the issue.

“There have been no indications that it was a big deal, because your department has still not been forthcoming in producing the documents that were the subject of the contempt,” Gohmert said.

“I don’t need lectures from you about contempt,” Gohmert added.

“And I don’t need lectures from you either,” Holder responded.

The documents at issue were mostly from the months after the public first learned that an Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigation called Fast and Furious put guns into the hands of criminals in Mexico. Republican lawmakers subpoenaed the Justice Department for internal emails dated after Feb. 4, 2011, when department officials realized they would have to retract a letter to Congress denying any such thing happened.

But President Obama then asserted executive privilege over the documents, and Republicans filed suit in federal court.

Holder’s “good luck with your asparagus” comment Tuesday was a reference to a remark by Gohmert at a hearing nearly a year ago. At that hearing, Gohmert and Holder got into another heated back-and-forth over how the FBI handled the case of alleged Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who had been interviewed by the FBI years before the attack over possible radicalization.

Gohmert said he was “trying to determine how the FBI blew the opportunity to save people’s lives,” but Holder defended the FBI’s work, telling Gohmert, “You don’t know what the FBI did. You don’t know what the FBI’s interaction was with the Russians. You don’t know what questions were put to the Russians, whether those questions were responded to. You simply do not know that. And you have characterized the FBI as being not thorough or taken exception to my characterization of them as being thorough. I know what the FBI did. You cannot know what I know.”

In trying to get a chance to respond to Holder’s comments, a flustered Gohmert shot back, “[Do not] cast aspersions on my asparagus.”

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Jeb Bush's Immigration Heresy - WSJ.com

Jeb Bush's Immigration Heresy - WSJ.com
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
For a party that has lost the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections, the GOP sure seems eager to banish people from its potential candidate ranks. First Senator Marco Rubio was expelled from impolite conservative company, then Rep Paul Ryan came in for abuse, and now former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is being whipped for breaking from the anti-immigration orthodoxy on the right. In a Sunday interview Mr. Bush said the act of illegally entering America is sometimes "an act of love" done out of a commitment to feed and clothe family members.

This is merely another way of way of putting his brother George W. Bush's line from the 2000 campaign that "family values don't stop at the Rio Grande." You know the GOP's immigration allergy has become excessive when even expressions of sympathy are criticized.

Related Video: <iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="512" height="288" src="http://live.wsj.com/public/page/embed-C9AC0019_1626_45B2_BC11_28DBD24E2615.html"></iframe>

Political Diary editor Jason Riley on whether former Florida Governor Jeb Bush will run for President in 2016.

Here's what Mr. Bush said in fuller context: "Someone who comes to our country because they couldn't come
legally, they come to our country because their families—the dad who loved their children was worried that their children didn't have food on the table. And they wanted to make sure their family was intact, and they crossed the border because they had no other means to work to be able to provide for their family. Yes, they broke the law, but it's not a felony." He's right about the non-felony, though Senator Ted Cruz immediately jumped in to say the rule of law matters. Thanks for clearing that one up, Senator, but Mr. Bush got there first, saying that one reason to pass immigration reform is to "restore people's confidence" in the law. "For example,

40% of illegal immigrants come with legal visas and they overstay their bounds. A great country ought to know where those folks are and politely ask them to leave," he said. "There are means by which we can control our border better than we have. And there should be penalties for breaking the law." Failure to reform immigration, he added, "ends up trapping these people when they could make a great contribution for their own families but also for us."
Mr. Bush urged everyone to drop "the harsh political rhetoric" and recognize that immigrants "can make a contribution to our country if we organize ourselves in a better way." Assimilation is essential to that

effort, he said, and should include teaching civics in public school and requiring English.

Not too long ago that would have been called Reagan orthodoxy. Mr. Bush says he'll decide on whether to run for President by the end of the year, but if he does run he's already got a better immigration message than the
self-defeating "self-deportation" crowd that cost the GOP so dearly in 2012.

Monday, April 7, 2014

Pro-Russia protesters in east Ukraine seize weapons: Interior Ministry - Yahoo News

Pro-Russia protesters in east Ukraine seize weapons: Interior Ministry - Yahoo News
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
Pro-Russian protesters who broke into state security headquarters in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk have seized weapons, and highway police have closed down entrances into the city, local police said on Monday.

Related Stories

Mainly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine has seen a sharp rise in tension since Moscow-backed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich's overthrow in February and the advent of an interim government in Kiev that wants closer ties with Europe.

"Unknown people who are in the building have broken into the building's arsenal and have seized weapons," police said in a statement. Nine people had been injured in the disturbances in Luhansk, they said. Separately, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on his Facebook page that the regional administrative building in the eastern city of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, had been cleared of "separatist"

protesters. Pro-Russian protesters in the east seized official buildings in three cities on Sunday, including the regional administrative building in the mining hub of Donetsk. Demonstrators in Donetsk and Luhansk demanded a referendum be carried out on whether to join Russia like that held in Crimea that paved the way for its annexation by Russia.

Avakov on Sunday accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of orchestrating the "separatist disorder" and promised that disturbances would be brought under control without violence. The protesters appeared to be responding in part to deposed Yanukovich, who fled to Russia after he was ousted and on March 28 issued a public call for each of Ukraine's regions to hold a referendum on its status inside the country.

Russia has branded the new government in Kiev illegitimate and has annexed Ukraine's Crimea region citing threats to its Russian-speaking majority - a move that has sparked the biggest standoff between Moscow and the West since the end of the Cold War.

Jeb Bush says illegal immigration often 'an act of love' - Yahoo News

Jeb Bush says illegal immigration often 'an act of love' - Yahoo News
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
Jeb Bush, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2016, said on Sunday that illegal immigrants who come to the United States to provide for their families are not committing a felony but an "act of love."

In comments at odds with the views of many in his party, Bush, the son of the 41st president and brother of the 43rd, said of the divisive immigration issue: "I think we need to kind of get beyond the harsh political rhetoric to a better place.

"I'm going to say this and it will be on tape and so be it," Bush said in an interview with Fox News host Shannon Bream in an event at the Texas presidential library of his father, George H.W. Bush.

"The way I look at this is someone who comes to our country because they couldn't come legally ... and they crossed the border because they had no other means to work, to be able to provide for their family, yes,
they broke the law, but it's not a felony. "It's an act of love, it's an act of commitment to your family.

Bush, 61, added: "I honestly think that that is a different kind of crime. There should be a price paid, but it shouldn't rile people up that people are actually coming to this country to provide for their families." Bush repeated at the event that he would decide on a presidential bid by the end of the year.
A comprehensive immigration reform bill passed the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate in June 2013 but has stalled in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Republican lawmakers have cited deep divisions in the party over the issue, including granting legal status to 11 million undocumented immigrants.

A Republican Party review after the last presidential election had urged the party to embrace immigration reform to attract more Hispanic support. Democratic President Barack Obama, who was re-elected in 2012, won 71 percent of the Hispanic vote to Republican challenger Mitt Romney's 27 percent.

Recent polls have suggested that if he were to run, Bush, a former Florida governor, would be weighed down by Americans' lingering attitudes toward his brother, George W. Bush, who left office in January 2009 as one of the least popular presidents in U.S. history.

In a Washington Post/ABC News poll last month, nearly half the voters surveyed said they "definitely would not" vote for Jeb Bush in 2016 - a level of disapproval matched only by Romney. Even Bush's mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, has been lukewarm about the notion of another son running for president.

Asked by Bream about the critical considerations that would go into his decision on whether to run for the presidency, Bush said one was whether he could do it with a "hopeful, optimistic message" that avoids drawing him into a political "mudfight."

The other consideration, he said, "is it OK for my family? Is it something that isn't a huge sacrifice for our family." He added: "It turns out that not running has generated more interest than if I said I was running."

Thursday, April 3, 2014

NYC Mayor de Blasio Rips Corporate Welfare, Champions a Living Wage - The Good Men Project

NYC Mayor de Blasio Rips Corporate Welfare, Champions a Living Wage - The Good Men ProjectJohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
The newly elected mayor of New York City has come out strong against corporate welfare and income inequality, and he has a plan to help remedy them. During an interview with WNYC reporter Brian Lehrer, Mayor Bill de Blasio said, “If we’re subsidizing companies, we have every right to demand a living wage for the people they pay.”

DeBlasio set his sights, more specifically, on the fast food industry. In October, a report found that American taxpayers hand out over $3.8 billion every year to help subsidize workers pay for the countries top 10 largest fast food chains. The subsidies include welfare to help supplement their workers’ poverty wages, SNAP benefits so they can afford to eat, and Medicaid so that they do not die from a preventable illness. All while raking in record profits year after year.

The increased awareness led to a historic walk out of non-unionized workers. Among their strongest supporters was de Blasio. Prior to his election,he joined fast food employees during protests in which they
demanded a higher minimum wages, benefits and a union. While the walk out was not immediate successful, they did change the conversation in America to a much more pressing issue. One that de Blasio heard loud and clear. At the time, he said,

“The bottom line is, this is an unsupportable situation where every day hard-working people can’t meet, and the companies involved certainly can do more.” Americans have built a cynicism towards what a politician says versus what they will actually do, and for good reason. When we vote, we make the best choice possible then hope we made the right choice. DeBlasio is not that kind of politician. Instead, he took to heart the anger and frustration of low-wage employees and wants to create laws that would help level the playing field.

The mayor is expected to soon introduce legislation expanding living wage protections to New York. Under a proposal introduced this past summer, de Blasio would raise the wage for employees at companies receiving city subsidies–including some retail and fast-food restaurants–to $11.75 an hour with benefits.
De Blasio said during the WNYC interview that he will fully unveil his plan to combat income inequality during next weeks State of the City address.

Another possible plan that de Blasio is considering is asking Albany to allow New York City the power to set its own minimum wage. This idea is a lot like the one that would split California into two different states. New York City is one of the most expensive cities to live in the world. The needs of the people in the city differ greatly from the rest of the state. Even at $11.75 an hour, trying to support a family would still be at a poverty level.

If de Blasio is granted the right to set his own minimum wage, it could give the city the power it needs to reduce income inequality. A higher minimum wage will mean more money in the pockets of workers which
builds a thriving economy. While Republicans will try to argue the theory that a higher minimum wage would mean less jobs, the facts simply say otherwise. De Blasio and the Democratic Party are on the right side
of this issue. The question is, will enough Americans create enough noise to force Congress to do the right thing by them?

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Turkey shoots down Syrian plane it says violated air space - Yahoo News

Turkey shoots down Syrian plane it says violated air space - Yahoo News
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
Turkish armed forces shot down a Syrian plane on Sunday that Ankara said had crossed into its air space
in an area where Syrian rebels have been battling President Bashar al-Assad's forces for control of a border crossing.
"A Syrian plane violated our airspace," Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told an election rally in northwest Turkey. "Our F-16s took off and hit this plane. Why? Because if you violate my airspace, our slap after this

will be hard."

Syria condemned what it called a "blatant aggression" and said the jet was pursuing rebel fighters inside Syria. It said the pilot had managed to eject before the plane crashed. The Turkish general staff said

one of its control centers detected two Syrian MIG-23s around 1 pm (1100 GMT) and warned them four times after they came close to the Turkish border.

One plane entered Turkish airspace at Yayladagi, east of the Kasab border crossing, it said. A Turkish F-16 fired a rocket at the Syrian jet and it crashed around 1,200 meters (1,300 yards) inside Syrian territory.

Amateur video released by rebel fighters showed smoke rising from wooded hills in the border area where they said the plane had come down. The rebels have been fighting since Friday for control of the Kasab

crossing, one of several counter-offensives since they retreated this week from a crusader castle near the Lebanese frontier and town on a vital cross-border supply route.

Assad's soldiers, backed by Iran and Shi'ite forces from Iraq and Lebanon's Hezbollah, have been pushing rebels back in the centre of the country around Damascus and Homs, but have only a minimal presence in most of north and eastern Syria.

"UNPRECEDENTED" TURKISH INTERVENTION
The incident occurred six months after Turkish warplanes shot down a Syrian helicopter which crossed into Turkish airspace in the same border area.

Once a close ally of Assad, Erdogan became a fierce critic of the president's military response to Syria's uprising and has sheltered and supported rebels battling to overthrow him. Authorities in Damascus say this
week's Islamist rebel offensive around the Kasab border crossing marked a new escalation, accusing Turkey of firing tank and artillery shells into Syria to provide cover for the fighters.

A source at Syria's foreign ministry called Turkey's actions "unprecedented and unjustified", state news agency SANA said.

More than 140,000 people have been killed in Syria's conflict, while 2.5 million refugees have fled to neighboring countries and millions more need humanitarian aid.

Assad's forces have already lost control of most border crossings with Turkey during the three-year civil
war but had held on to Kasab, gateway to the coastal province of Latakia that has remained an Assad stronghold.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said heavy clashes continued for a third day around Kasab, where rebels have seized control of the border crossing but Assad's forces, who still control
the nearby Kasab village, have been fighting back, supported by air power.

The British-based anti-Assad Observatory said rebels also launched another attack in Latakia on Sunday in the village of Solas, about 25 km (15 miles) south of Kasab. They also fired two rockets into the coastal city of Latakia, the main hub for operations to ship out Syria's chemical weapons for destruction under a deal reached with the United States and Russia. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

In the northern city of Aleppo, rebels said they had captured a former police station on the edge of the city's ancient citadel, as well as installations in the Layramoun district and a nearby hill overlooking the main road into Aleppo from the northwest.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Moldova tells Russia: don't eye annexation here - Yahoo News

Moldova tells Russia: don't eye annexation here - Yahoo News
JohnButts@JBMedia - Reports:
The president of ex-Soviet Moldova warned Russia on Tuesday against considering any move to annex his
country's separatist Transdniestria region in the same way that it has taken control of Crimea in Ukraine.

The president's comments came one day after the speaker of Transdniestria's separatist parliament, during a trip to Moscow, urged Russia to incorporate his mainly Russian-speaking region, which split away from Moldova in 1990.

Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti said Russia would be making a "mistake" if it agreed to the request for annexation from Transdniestria's parliamentary speaker, Mikhail Burla. "This is an illegal body which has taken no decision on inclusion into Russia," Timofti told a news conference. "I believe that Burla's actions are counter-productive and will do no good for either Moldova or Russia. And if Russia makes a move to satisfy

such proposals, it will be making a mistake," he said. President Vladimir Putin and the ethnic Russian leaders of Ukraine's Crimea region signed a treaty on Tuesday in Moscow making the Black Sea peninsula part of Russia after its voters overwhelmingly backed such a move in a referendum on Sunday.

The Russian-speakers of Transdniestria seceded from Moldova in 1990, one year before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, amid fears that Moldova would shortly merge with neighboring Romania, whose language and culture it broadly shares.

The separatist region fought a brief war with Moldova in 1992 and it declared itself an independent state, but it remains unrecognized by any country, including Russia.

"INTERNATIONAL NORMS"

Attempts to resolve the dispute have made little progress, with Russian "peacekeepers" standing guard over a large Soviet-era arsenal. A referendum in Transdniestria in 2006 produced a 97.2 percent vote in favor of joining Russia, an even higher score than in Crimea's referendum. Unlike Crimea, however, it is located far from Russia. It shares a border with Ukraine.

Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries, has been governed by pro-Western leaders since 2009. It has clinched an association agreement with the European Union, as currently sought by the pro-Western leaders
who came to power in Ukraine after the removal of Moscow-backed President Viktor Yanukovich.

In his remarks, Timofti denounced as illegal the referendum in Crimea and any bid by Russia to annex the peninsula, echoing criticism from Ukraine's pro-Western leaders, the United States and EU countries.
Russia says it is acting in Crimea in accordance with international law. Timofti said Moldova wanted to solve its Transdniestria standoff through talks anchored in upholding the country's territorial integrity. "Russia has repeatedly stood by this. Our expectations from Russia are that it will observe international norms in Transdniestria," he said. Reports from Moscow said speaker Burla told Russian officials his region had given approval in principle to a law that would ensure the implementation of Russian legislation by Transdniestria.

"Transdniestria's very difficult situation could be made even worse if Moldova, which has already signed an association agreement with the EU, now adopts restrictive economic measures," Russian media quoted Burla as saying. It was Yanukovich's decision last November not to sign Ukraine's association agreement with

the EU and to seek closer economic ties with Russia instead that ignited the street protests that eventually forced his removal from office.