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Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 10 Sep 2018 12:24
by Singha
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Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 10 Sep 2018 12:24
by Singha
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Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 10 Sep 2018 12:29
by Singha
Simon Kuestenmacher


@simongerman600
Jan 10
Very good #map puts #education in #USA in perspective. Which country has the same level of education as each US state? Source: https://buff.ly/2C8dJxf

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Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 10 Sep 2018 12:38
by Singha
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Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 10 Sep 2018 17:54
by Singha
opioid consumption :D no wonder the cartels love being next to the biggest market

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Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 10 Sep 2018 19:55
by Lalmohan
opiods are prescription drugs, the biggest pushers are the big corporates
just like in the 'good ol' dins' of the opium trade from desh to chin courtesy of east india company

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 10 Sep 2018 20:00
by Gus
heh...the guy who makes the oxycontin, and profited a lot ,

also turns out to be the guy that owns the company that is promoting a weaning off drug..

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 12 Sep 2018 06:29
by UlanBatori

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 12 Sep 2018 09:55
by A_Gupta
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/visa ... ons-denied
Authorities Can Now Deny Visa And Green Card Applications Without Giving Applicants A Chance To Fix Errors

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 12 Sep 2018 21:25
by UlanBatori

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 13 Sep 2018 05:15
by krishna_krishna
Another day in Paradise land of milk and honey with racism galore :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCKfhgcRgZM


A video of a tense encounter between four black students and a white man in Florida has prompted a police investigation after it went viral on Twitter.

The video, posted by one of the students of Florida A&M University, Isiah Butterfield, shows the man holding a gun and using his body to prevent the students from entering the building of a student housing complex on Saturday. The video has been viewed more than 320,000 times on Twitter.

"...We are sick of the discrimination," said Butterfield in the tweet. "Never thought I’d have a personal experience with racism like this..

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 13 Sep 2018 09:15
by Mort Walker
The guy was fired from his job as a hotel manager.

https://nypost.com/2018/09/12/hotel-man ... -building/

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 13 Sep 2018 12:15
by ramana
GD, What with all those graphics?

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 13 Sep 2018 13:58
by Singha
understanding the many faced creature that is the US saar. :D

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 14 Sep 2018 00:05
by krishna_krishna
Mort Walker wrote:The guy was fired from his job
Mort sir, from the link you posted:

“Asked why the group didn’t call police, Thomas said: “That would have just been another black man dead.”

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 15 Sep 2018 05:38
by UlanBatori
What goes around comes around. I hope ALL the Paki agints face karma.

WTF!
A deferred prosecution agreement is an agreement not to prosecute an entity as long as the defendant complies with the conditions of the agreement, and in many cases it dictates that the defendant must commit no new crimes for its duration. The charges in the agreement are then dropped at the end of the period.

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 15 Sep 2018 14:46
by Lalmohan
anyone looking for insights into how the american political system currently operates should watch a documentary called "Get me Roger Stone"
fascinating insights into the man, and his career from Nixon to Trump
and yes, even Pakistan gets a mention or two in there

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 15 Sep 2018 16:34
by anupmisra
Bill Maher and Packistan. "F** the Pakistanis".


Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 16 Sep 2018 03:45
by shyam
https://twitter.com/PoliticalShort/stat ... 4257281024

"Actively undermining U.S. Policy as a former Secretary of State is literally unheard of."

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 16 Sep 2018 12:44
by shyam
https://twitter.com/realTRUMPERLAND/sta ... 5548347397

Some people are saying that this is going to happen

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 16 Sep 2018 13:23
by shyam
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https://twitter.com/fema/status/1041024608282005504
Info on the emergency alert test:
* It’s a nationwide test of the same system that pushes public emergency messages like AMBER alerts
* Presidential Alerts are only for national emergencies
* FEMA & @FCC are testing to ensure it will work when needed
FAQ: https://www.fema.gov/emergency-alert-test

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 16 Sep 2018 13:44
by g.sarkar
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/ ... war-789933
China braces for long road ahead in Trump’s trade war
By ADAM BEHSUDI
BEIJING — President Donald Trump may believe that China will eventually wave the white flag in a trade war, but his posture is inviting only more resistance from Beijing, where skepticism of his administration’s ability to negotiate in good faith is growing.
“Our U.S. counterparts need to assure us they will abide by any agreement,” said Yu Dunhai, deputy director general at China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “How can we trust them next time?” The question was raised just before China announced that it would accept an invitation to begin a fresh round of talks, reportedly initiated by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
“China always believes that an escalating trade conflict serves no one’s interests,” Chinese Foreign Ministry chief spokesman Geng Shuang said during a news conference on Thursday. Despite the official response welcoming new talks, there is little indication that the government in Beijing is ready to change its practices or give in to U.S. demands. The close relationship between state-owned companies and government should make it easy for China to institute quickly new policies on U.S. criticisms over mandatory technology transfers or intellectual property. Yet nothing has been offered publicly indicating that Chinese officials are willing to adapt their approach.
Questions also still linger over who in the Trump administration is in a position to effectively negotiate on behalf of the president.
“Not only my country but many other countries feel confused about who to talk to,” Yu said.
Trump’s comment downplaying reports of Mnuchin’s efforts to re-engage with China was just the latest example of confusion over who has the authority to make trade deals. We are under no pressure to make a deal with China, they are under pressure to make a deal with us,” Trump tweeted on Thursday. “Our markets are surging, theirs are collapsing. We will soon be taking in Billions in Tariffs & making products at home. If we meet, we meet?” Distrust in Beijing is also running high after Trump trashed an agreement struck in May in which China offered to quell trade tensions by agreeing to import vast amounts of U.S. farm goods and natural gas.
“Very clearly there was agreement,” said Yu, who participated in the talks led on the Chinese side by Vice Premier Liu He.
Chinese academics linked to the government say there is a growing recognition that the U.S.’ existential crisis over China’s economic ambitions will not lend itself to an easy solution if, or when, the two countries meet again.
“This is not a trade issue. This is about competition between the two sides,” said Teng Jianqun, a senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, a think tank tied to China’s Foreign Affairs ministry. “The two countries have entered a new stage of relations.”
The Trump administration’s tariffs against China — which have been imposed now on about $53 billion worth of imports — are based on complaints about China’s industrial policies. The administration says Beijing’s initiatives, such as the Made in China 2025 policy aimed at boosting China’s high-tech sectors, are based on stealing U.S. technology and on massive, trade-distorting subsidies.
.....
Gautam

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 16 Sep 2018 17:27
by Gus
folks were predicting a pardon for manafort, but he has instead flipped. full cooperation. and pled guilty to those counts which hung because of one trumpkin juror who held out.

would be interesting to know why now...when he could have leveraged cooperation for a better plea deal.

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 16 Sep 2018 18:13
by A_Gupta

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 16 Sep 2018 20:06
by Lalmohan
Gus wrote:folks were predicting a pardon for manafort, but he has instead flipped. full cooperation. and pled guilty to those counts which hung because of one trumpkin juror who held out.

would be interesting to know why now...when he could have leveraged cooperation for a better plea deal.
most likely he was offered rest of life in jail versus a short time in jail and forfeiture of assets

as the roger stone documentary makes very clear, men like stone and manafort (who started the DC lobbying business together) these guys are the king makers, they don't care who is the king, as long as they have made it happen. manafort knows everyone in DC, has done for years. trump is incidental to the big scheme of things

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 16 Sep 2018 20:30
by Mort Walker
Manafort’s guilty verdict also means that what he did never becomes part of public record through a trial. He was Trump’s manager for 3 months so to account for every day will be fairly easy for him. When this witch hunt concludes is when Trump will most likely pardon him. Even if it is out to Jan. 2025.

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 16 Sep 2018 20:40
by chanakyaa
Lalmohan wrote:anyone looking for insights into how the american political system currently operates should watch a documentary called "Get me Roger Stone"
fascinating insights into the man, and his career from Nixon to Trump
and yes, even Pakistan gets a mention or two in there
+1 glad you mentioned. Watched the whole thing in one shot. It definitely provides great deal of insights into current affairs, and at the very least Into DT. Highly recommend to watch it if you can. Sleaze ball Stone taking politics to new heights. Trouble is that it doesn’t take too long for your opponents to copy it. You could argue that YooS collectively uses same techniques against other countries when it comes to international affairs.

Oh, and Manafort’s history in the above docu is a bonus.

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 16 Sep 2018 20:43
by Lalmohan
chanakyaa wrote:
Oh, and Manafort’s history in the above docu is a bonus.
especially the whole section on 'we are the swamp'! :twisted:

also the fights between stone and lewandowski are priceless

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 16 Sep 2018 21:56
by UlanBatori

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 16 Sep 2018 22:51
by A_Gupta

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 16 Sep 2018 22:53
by A_Gupta
There is this, too!
https://local.theonion.com/open-minded- ... 1819572320

PS: The issue with the New Yorker was not that David Remnick was to interview Steve Bannon. Interview away! The issue was that Steve Bannon was going to be invited to headline the NewYorker Festival. That is kind of like inviting him to be grand marshal of your hometown parade. That is not acceptable. You might as well invite Zakir Naik and Hafiz Saeed to the World Hindu Conference if you are that "open-minded".

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 17 Sep 2018 01:04
by UlanBatori
Fortunately I was munching on something, so I could not have used the time I skimmed that much more profitably. Actually I have never read any of Steve Bannon's rants beyond a couple of lines. Another guy who uses a beard and pompous words to convey basically what the Gland Lizard of the KKK has been yelling for ages. That he is called the Strategist for the US establishment in power, should be very scary unless you remember what these entities do even when the advice is sane: mostly nothing. Strut around and shake their asses in tailored suits mouthing inanities on their way from one disaster to another. In Zakaria's new pompous rant (which I neither read nor watched beyond the heading) he seems to be saying that the more people rant against Bannon, the more ppl hear Bannon's name, and knowing the ranters, believe that Bannon must be on to something. Trouble is, since they neither read nor think, they come up with their own understanding and attribute that to Bannonism. Like:
Bannon mouths off with his beard shaking:
Americans must renew our understanding of Clause 16 of the Monroe Doctrine and its implementation throughout the western hemisphere as well as its extension to the Eastern hemisphere to realize the historical underpinnings of western democracy and make America Great Again!
Ranters yell:
Bannon argues to invade the Phillippines! That will create a refugee crisis that will dwarf Syria and Iraq combined!
Bubba hears:
Yeah, Peggy Sue, Bannon makes sense. Build the wall, dem filipinos are coming from mexico!

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 17 Sep 2018 01:27
by chetak
The US deep state is back with its rabid evergreen agenda and its palpably hypocritical, duplicitous and dishonest moralizing about "religious freedom" bullshit.

US report blaming Hindutva for ‘rising intolerance’ is disingenuous, biased and motivated


US report blaming Hindutva for ‘rising intolerance’ is disingenuous, biased and motivated

ByK Bhattacharjee, September 15, 2018.


As per a report published by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), an independent bipartisan wing of the United States Congress, the secular nature of India is eroding due to the rise of Hindutva in the country. The report titled “India: Religious Freedom Issues”, which can be read here, states, “Religious freedom is explicitly protected under its constitution. Hindus account for a vast majority (nearly four-fifths) of the country’s populace. Hindu nationalism has been a rising political force in recent decades, by many accounts eroding India’s secular nature and leading to new assaults on the country’s religious freedoms.”

The report makes use of multiple US and Indian government resources, in addition to liberal media outlets which their own President calls ‘Fake News’ and quotes various Indians including senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, to further its narrative. The report only takes into account the opinions of liberals to reach its conclusions and a contrarian point of view finds no place in its pages. At a time when the US is itself so divided as a country, perhaps their Congress will be better advised to focus on the rise of Neo-Nazis and various political leaders and vast sections of their media openly supporting violent organizations like the Antifa.

Most conspicuously, the report cites S.M. Mushrif when it states, “In 2016, Maharashtra’s former senior-most police official reportedly called for banning the RSS as “the country’s largest terror organization.” Mushrif was one of the individuals who had attended the inauguration event of the book, ’26/11: RSS ki Saazish?’. Interestingly the book insinuates that the RSS conspired with CIA and Mossad to perpetuate the horror in Mumbai. It is interesting that the CRS accepts the assertions of a man as gospel truth who appears to have endorsed a book that blames the top US intelligence agency for the terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008.

The CRS also appears to harbour a special grudge against anti-conversion laws. Its report says, “According to USCIRF, although these laws have resulted in few arrests and no convictions, they “have created a hostile atmosphere for religious minorities, particularly Christians,” and “Christian communities have long reported harassment and violent attacks in the states that have adopted anti-conversion laws,” largely as reaction to perceive proselytizing activities.” It also cites the annual report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) which states, “Advocate for the central Indian government to press states with anti-conversion and anti-cow slaughter laws to repeal or amend them to conform with international human rights standards.”

The CRS would be well reminded that every nation has a right to protect itself from demographic invasion and drastic demographic shifts cause great damage to the social fabric of a society, which are often irreparable. And Hinduism, unlike the Abrahamic faiths, does not have proselytizing as one of its integral tenets, thus making such provisions necessary to protect itself against such aggressive faith systems.

The report says of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which would grant citizenship rights to persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries, “If enacted, it thus could violate the Indian Constitution’s equal protection provisions.” Perhaps the CRS is not aware of Indian history and the Indian subcontinent. India was partitioned on the basis of religious faith, Pakistan and Bangladesh were formed as a consequence. We, as a country, do not owe citizenship rights to those whose ancestors participated in the partition of the Indian nation as they were granted a great chunk of land for themselves and the generations to come. And people of Indic faiths are persecuted in those countries to this day. Thus, it only makes sense that only persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are given citizenship rights should they so desire.

The report also raises concerns about the crackdown on NGOs that receive foreign funds from the current administration. It says, “Human rights watchdogs have found their activities constrained under the Modi government, and they express concerns about Modi’s commitment to minority rights, his past willingness to tolerate suppression of free expression, and the vigour with which some of his supporters have quashed dissent.” The NDA government has shutdown thousand of NGOs for non-compliance with the FCRA laws.

As we have documented in our ‘Demystifying Civil Society’ series, NGOs that receive foreign contributions from abroad are often involved in political activism in the country and other such contentious issues of great social significance. Under such circumstances, it is of critical importance that the Indian government monitors such NGOs to ensure that foreign elements are not destabilizing Indian society. It is also crucial to mention that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had also blamed US-funded NGOs for the protests against the Koodankulam Nuclear Project.

The inherent biases of the report is revealed by the fact that Muslim intolerance is completely ignored. It is commonplace in India for Hindu festivals to be attacked and yet not a single account of Muslim atrocity against Hindus finds mention when it rakes up the issue of mob lynching. When the report raises the issue of cow vigilantism, it fails to appreciate the menace of cattle smuggling and how poor farmers are robbed of their livelihood by these criminals who often take up arms against law enforcement authorities. When it raises the issue of the campaign against ‘Love Jihad’, it fails to take into account the fact that there is strong evidence which suggests that radical Islamic organizations like the PFI are involved in a concerted campaign to brainwash Hindu women and convert them to Islam.

The response of the Indian government to such biased reports thus far has been, “India does not take cognizance of internal reports of a foreign country.” And it is the correct stance to adopt in response to an internal report of a country that prides itself in moralizing without holding itself to the same standards. More importantly, the report is a relic of the establishment that still occupies most corridors of power in the US despite Donald Trump’s election to power. President Trump has been a pleasant departure from the constant patronizing that came with Barack Obama.

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 17 Sep 2018 02:08
by A_Gupta
The witches uncovered so far in Mueller’s witch hunt:
Plead guilty, connected to Trump’s campaign:
1. George Papadopolous, a former foreign policy advisor to Trump’s campaign
2. Michael T. Flynn, a retired lieutenant general and Trump’s former national security advisor
3. Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen
4. Manafort’s business partner, Rick Gates
5. Paul Manafort - convicted by a jury of some charges, plead guilty to others.
Unrelated to the campaign:
1. Alex van der Zwaan, a former lawyer at a prestigious law firm, worked with Paul Manafort and Rick Gates
2. Richard Pinedo is a businessman who admitted to providing fake bank account numbers to people who turned out to be Russian nationals seeking to influence the election.

There are some dozen other indictments in process.

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 17 Sep 2018 02:33
by komal
chetak wrote:The US deep state is back with its rabid evergreen agenda and its palpably hypocritical, duplicitous and dishonest moralizing about "religious freedom" bullshit.
......

More importantly, the report is a relic of the establishment that still occupies most corridors of power in the US despite Donald Trump’s election to power. President Trump has been a pleasant departure from the constant patronizing that came with Barack Obama.
Utter nonsense. The report was written by the GOP controlled Congressional Research Service -- Obama had nothing to do with the report. And the notion that the Trump Admin is not beholden to the religious fundamentalists who equate Hinduism with Satanic worship is laughable.

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 17 Sep 2018 03:49
by Rudradev
^+1000008.

USCIRF as a body with official sanction for India- (specifically Hindu-) bashing began functioning under the Republican regime of George W Bush.

Denial of visa to Modi (the ONLY foreign leader USCIRF ever sanctioned) on the pretext of 2002 also happened under a Republican regime.

No surprise at all that the anti-Hindu invective continues under the EJ-friendly Republican govt. of Donald Trump & Mike Pence.

Only a self-loathing Gungadin of a so-called "Hindu" would wilfully ignore this reality and cite Obama instead.

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 17 Sep 2018 07:05
by UlanBatori
I beg to correct the experts here.

The authorizing legislation for USCIRF was in 1998 I believe Slick Wille was POTUS then, and probably donkeys controlled Senate as well.

Here is the original authorizing act: International Religious Freedom Scam
The first yindoo appointee was in Dubya's time, true. They appointed the Preeti Bansal bibi in 2001/2002, and fittingly enough, she was the Presiding Dumbass in 2006 when they nixed the ModiVisa. They have been getting better at India-bashing since then.

But look at this year:


9/11/18: USCIRF Highly Concerned by Latest Chinese Government Abuses Against Religious Communities
USCIRF is highly concerned by reports of Chinese authorities’ escalating religious freedom violations. On the same weekend as national media in the United States revealed the horrific detention of countless Uighur Muslims in extra-judicial “re-education camps,” the Chinese government also reportedly raided and shut down Zion Church in Beijing.

Nice highways coming up in Tibet and Gobi desert, I suppose.


Plus the Usual Suspects: Bash the Nicaraguans

8/24/18: USCIRF Condemns Violence Against Religious Ministries in Nicaragua
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) condemns increasing violence directed particularly at religious leaders and ministries by the Nicaraguan government and its supporters. Since pro-democracy demonstrations began in April, more than 300 people have been killed and many more injured, including leaders of faith-based organizations.

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 17 Sep 2018 09:37
by komal
Facts do matter on occasion:

1) The report in question is by the Congressional Research Service -- an arm of the GOP controlled Congress.

2) Nothing to do with anything 'Slick Willie' did in 1999 or 'Obammer' did at anytime

3) For the record, the GOP controlled the both Houses between in 1998.

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 17 Sep 2018 10:12
by Kashi
When it comes to India, blue or red are no different in their hostility and desire to have India bleed.

If one commissions sham reports full of conjured lies and slander, the other sends "fact finding missions" to "find" (or make up if you will) evidence to slander India and Indians at every opportunity possible.

I only wish folks arguing over who's the lesser evil, acknowledge the fact that when it comes to India, they are both evil, albeit in different packaging.

Re: Understanding the US- Again

Posted: 17 Sep 2018 10:48
by chetak
komal wrote:
chetak wrote:The US deep state is back with its rabid evergreen agenda and its palpably hypocritical, duplicitous and dishonest moralizing about "religious freedom" bullshit.
......

More importantly, the report is a relic of the establishment that still occupies most corridors of power in the US despite Donald Trump’s election to power. President Trump has been a pleasant departure from the constant patronizing that came with Barack Obama.
Utter nonsense. The report was written by the GOP controlled Congressional Research Service -- Obama had nothing to do with the report. And the notion that the Trump Admin is not beholden to the religious fundamentalists who equate Hinduism with Satanic worship is laughable.
read it again, friend.

it says that Obama was patronizing towards India and trump is not, period. (not yet, anyway :mrgreen: ).

Among other things, obama also chose to patronize India, on Indian soil, during a state visit. This is simply not done.

It reeks not only of bad manners but also of contempt for his hosts.

The conclusions that you have drawn are your own, and you are entitled to them.

the article per se does not mention anything about obama being responsible for the report.