Deal reached to allow stranded Cuban migrants out of Costa Rica

Central American countries have agreed to a pilot program to start allowing thousands of Cuban migrants stranded in Costa Rica to continue onward to the United States from next month, governments in the region said on Monday.

Read more at Reuters
(Hat tip: KimR) Read More......

Survey: U.S. press freedom plunges under Obama to 46th in world, after Romania

The Obama administration’s handling of whistleblower Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency leaks and the investigation of a string of leaks produced a plunge in the country’s rating on press freedoms and government openness, according to a global survey released Tuesday.

Read more at the Washington Times
(Hat tip: KimR) Read More......

Bolton: Abject Surrender by the United States

By John Bolton
What does Israel do now?
Negotiations for an “interim” arrangement over Iran’s nuclear weapons program finally succeeded this past weekend, as Security Council foreign ministers (plus Germany) flew to Geneva to meet their Iranian counterpart. After raising expectations of a deal by first convening on November 8-10, it would have been beyond humiliating to gather again without result. So agreement was struck despite solemn incantations earlier that “no deal is better than a bad deal.” ✧ This interim agreement is badly skewed from America’s perspective. Iran retains its full capacity to enrich uranium, thus abandoning a decade of Western insistence and Security Council resolutions that Iran stop all uranium-enrichment activities. Allowing Iran to continue enriching, and despite modest (indeed, utterly inadequate) measures to prevent it from increasing its enriched-uranium stockpiles and its overall nuclear infrastructure, lays the predicate for Iran fully enjoying its “right” to enrichment in any “final” agreement. Indeed, the interim agreement itself acknowledges that a “comprehensive solution” will “involve a mutually defined enrichment program.” This is not, as the Obama administration leaked before the deal became public, a “compromise” on Iran’s claimed “right” to enrichment. This is abject surrender by the United States. Read more at the Weekly Standard... Read More......

Gov. Bobby Jindal: The end of race

50 Years after King's speech, it's time to stop caring
about skin color, the author says. | AP Photo

Scan the news on any given day in America, and you will invariably find multiple stories about race, racism, ethnicity, and race relations. We can’t seem to get enough of this topic, and correspondingly, the media appetite for all things race-related is unquenchable. ✧ Racism is one of the more tragic features of the human condition. Like greed, envy, and other sins, it has been around for thousands of years, on every continent. ✧ So here we are, in the most advanced, successful, and powerful nation in the history of the world, and yet we continue to struggle to get past the color of each other’s skin. ✧ There is no more shallow, hollow, or soulless way to think about human beings than in terms of their skin color. Read more at Politico...

(Hat tip: Kim) Read More......

Pravda: The global crisis and the appropriation of wealth

PRAVDA, 2/12/2013 - Reading articles published by Pravda, are interesting in that they let us know how others see us. "The global crisis and the appropriation of wealth" by Gelio Fregapani (translated from the Portuguese version of Pravda/RU) is such an article. Read it here... Read More......

Pravda: Americans never give up your guns

PRAVDA (English), 12/28/2012 by Stanislav Mishin - This article, Americans never give up your guns, and all its links make for uncomfortable, yet valuable reading to garner a peek at America from the perspective of Mr. Mishin and other Russian contributors who value their freedom. The comment sections are interesting as well.

These days, there are few things to admire about the socialist, bankrupt and culturally degenerating USA, but at least so far, one thing remains: the right to bear arms and use [of] deadly force to defend one's self and possessions. Read more at Pravda...

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'Superstorm' Sandy damage widespread and severe

We offer our heartfelt thoughts and prayers for all affected by storm damage from Sandy.  If you would like to help with the relief effort, here are some suggestions:

The Salvation Army: Text ($10) STORM to 80888 or Salvation Army Online Donations
The Red Cross: Text ($10) REDCROSS to 90999 or Red Cross Online Donations

Fox News has a growing collection of photos from damaged areas of the Northeast.  The images are heartbreaking. Read More......

Alsea Valley Alliance Showing Important Video - You're Invited!

VIDEO
UNITED NATION’S PLAN
NOW BEING IMPLEMENTED
BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)
RESULTING IN EPA’S ATTEMPT TO CONTROL ALL WATERWAYS IN THE U.S. & BENTON COUNTY’S PLAN TO IMPLEMENT REGULATED RIPERARIAN BUFFERS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY
VIDEO WILL BE SHOWN ON FRIDAY, JUNE 24 AT 7PM IN THE ALSEA LIBRARY MEETING ROOM
EVERYONE INVITED
PRESENTED BY ALSEA VALLEY ALLIANCE

All Benton County residents should become well-informed on these issues. --bc Read More......

18 Signs the Collapse of Society is Accelerating

ECONOMIC COLLAPSE, 6/9/2011 (Hat tip: V2A) - As the U.S. economy collapses, the thin veneer of civilization that we all take for granted is going to begin to disappear. In fact, there are already an increasing number of signs that the collapse of society is accelerating. In cities such as Chicago, roving packs of young people are "mob robbing" local businesses, randomly assaulting tourists and shoppers and are even pulling people out of vehicles. This isn't just happening in the "bad areas" anymore. Read more at The Economic Collapse... Read More......

Job Growth: The Number Was Shockingly Low

RNC RESEARCH, 6/4/2011 (Hat tip: D'Ann Matthews) - Obama's rosy economic rhetoric is "ringing hollow" after this [yesterday] morning's "disaster" of a jobs report.

• Politico’s “Playbook”: “0-100K - Disaster.” (Mike Allen, Politico’s “Playbook,” 6/3/11)
  
• MSNBC’s Kelly Welker: “Make No Mistake About It, These Numbers Are Dismal.”(MSNBC’s “Daily Rundown,” 6/3/11)
  
• CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla: “Unclear How Obama Is Going To Spin These #Jobs Numbers In Toledo. (Woulda Been Worse W/O Stimulus" Ringing Hollow.)” (Carl Quintanilla, Twitter Feed, 6/3/11)
  
• ABC News: “Anemic Jobs Growth, Higher Unemployment Bodes Ill for Economy.”(Susanna Kim And Bill McGuire, “Anemic Jobs Growth, Higher Unemployment Bodes Ill for Economy,” ABC News, 6/3/11)
  
• The Wall Street Journal: “U.S. Hiring Slowed Dramatically In May And The Unemployment Rate Kept Rising, Adding To Concerns The Jobs Market Will Take Years To Heal As The Economy Remains Weak.” (Luca Di Leo and Jeff Bater, “Unemployment Rises As Hiring Slows,” The Wall Street Journal, 6/3/11)
  
• The Associated Press[Washinton Post]: “Employers Added 54,000 Jobs In May, Fewest In 8 Months; Unemployment Rate Rose To 9.1 Pct.”(“Employers Added 54,000 Jobs In May, Fewest In 8 Months; Unemployment Rate Rose To 9.1 Pct.” The Associated Press[Washington Post], 6/3/11)
  
• MarketWatch: “Job Growth Decelerated Sharply In May, The Labor Department Said Friday.” (“Job Growth Slows To 54,000 In May, Rate Up To 9.1%,” MarketWatch, 6/3/11)
  
• National Journal: “The Number Was Shockingly Low … It's Been A Bad Week For The Economy.” (Katy O’Donnell, “Economy Picks Up Just 54,000 Jobs; Unemployment Rises Slightly,” National Journal, 6/3/11)

Read More......

FOX: 'Negative' Rating Jolts D.C. Debt Talks

Top credit rating service demotes U.S. fiscal outlook from a 'stable' to 'negative' as politicians reaffirm their commitment to solving the debt crisis. Read more at Fox News... Read More......

Citizens Against Government Waste - 2010 Commercial

Citizens Against Government Waste - "This [2010] ad is part of an ongoing communications program in CAGW's decades-long fight against wasteful government spending, increased taxes, out-of-control deficit spending, and a crippling national debt that threatens the future and survival of our country." -- CAGWmedia Read More......

Republicans Warned to Focus on the Economy

BELMONT CLUB, 2/26/2010 by Richard Fernandez, The Gathering Storm - Jay Cost says the Republicans have got messaging on Obamacare completely wrong. He believes it’s wrong to be talking in terms of repealing the health care “reform” bill since that somehow sounds like being against mom and apple pie. No. Cost says the Republicans should simply talk about the economy. Focus on it like a laser beam. Because once the economy is [in] front of everyone like a dead and gutted fish it will be perfectly obvious to everyone there’s no way Obamacare can be funded. Or maybe not. Maybe if we think happy thoughts all the bad things will go away. Ezra Klein at the Washington Post says talk like that is dangerous. It’s “fear-mongering”. Read more about the economy at the Belmont Club...

Related: FOXNews.com - GOP Sees Risks in Push to Repeal Health Law Read More......

A Warning to All Americans

From Naval Aviator, Commander Jerry Wilson
This had better scare us to our knees!!
Via email, 9/22/2009 (Hat tip: Stella Guenther)

We lived in California during the winters of 2007 and 2008. We became addicted to Fox News and watched O’Reilly and Hannity and Colmes every night. When we got back home, we upgraded our cable to get Fox. I watched the Presidential campaign very closely. Initially because I thought the Democrats would nominate Hillary Clinton and then in astonishment when they chose an even more hard-left candidate. All of last year I told everyone I could that Obama was not a Democrat, he was a Marxist. He is far to the left of any European leader and even our far left party, the NDP. gt;

I read Saul Alinsky when I was in University. I studied him and his writing carefully. When Bill Ayers and his idiot wife were bombing and killing people at random in the Weather Underground. Weather Underground and the Black Panthers were closely allied. I read David Horowitz’s account of changing from a Marxist to a conservative after seeing that the government was afraid to prosecute members of the Panthers for murdering his personal assistant. He suddenly understood the evil that Marxism really was.

After the student radicals failed in creating a Marxist revolution in the United States by violent means, they embraced Alinsky. You would be wise to read “Rules for Radicals” because it outlines how Hillary and Obama planned to get into power, and what they intended to do when they got it.

Socialism is not the correct descriptor for what Obama and the Democrats are doing. They are going to be much more far reaching than anything Sweden has ever been able to do. Obama is following Alinsky’s plans, those set out in “Rules for Radicals” and his other writing. The Democrats are attempting to create one party rule in the U.S. and in achieving that, will create crisis after crisis by their own actions and use those crisis to nationalize the means of production in the U.S. You are in the middle of a communist revolution and few in the U.S. can actually see it for what it truly is.

The U.S. . is now on the path of financial destruction. The Constitution has been shredded and individual human rights are being trampled. In less than 8 months. Obama has used a recession to take over the two largest industries in the U.S. He will debase the Dollar and is on the road to creating an incredible energy shortage that will allow him and Congress to take over the energy industry.

But by and large I think that by the 2010 elections, the Democrats will have gerrymandered electoral districts to the point that it will be impossible for them to lose control of both houses of Congress. The incredible increase in the money supply is going to create Zimbabwe and Venezuela style inflation, and with it, controls on the currency and the amount of money that can be taken out of the country.

I love America , I cannot believe how the ignorance of the American public has created a situation whereby they are going to lose their Republic and slip into an age of repression and tyranny.

I may be nuts, but so far I have been 100% in my predictions of what Obama was going to do, because I merely had to look at “Rules for Radicals” to see what was coming next.

I read Glenn Beck’s book, “Common Sense” and in it re-read Thomas Paines pamphlet with the same name. I recommend the book.

When the storm finally hits (and it will), those of you who supported the Obama administration will be affected as well. It won’t just be us gun owners or Flat-Taxers, or Pro-Lifers that get hit. You’ll be right there next to us.

You all thought the Conservatives were nut cases. You know, all of us who believe in God, small government, the Second Amendment, etc. You thought you could just go back to sleep after the election was over. In your world, America will continue as before. You’ll still have the same rights, the same nice house, the same big screen television. After all, your high school football team won and the other team lost – go team! Even if you have bothered to look up from the daily grind since Nov 4th, you dismissed everything that has occurred as “politics as usual–the same old stuff”.

In the end, it’ll all be OK won’t it? Not this time.

There are a growing number of citizens in the US that are ready to fight to shut down the government’s grab of personal freedom, it’s blatant abuse of the constitution, and it’s attempt to replace the American way of life with socialism. You have to listen carefully to hear them, but they are there. I won’t start that fight, but when it goes down I will join it.

As for you, why, you’ll be shocked because you didn’t see it coming. And eventually you’ll be saddened when you see that we have truly lost the way of life with which you grew up. You’ll be saddened that your children and grandchildren live in a socialist, government-controlled gulag where their every movement from cradle to grave is tracked by the government. But most of all, you’ll be saddened by the death of friends and relatives who are brave enough to fight and die for something they believe in.

You know, McCain wasn’t much of a candidate. I’ll give you that. He was the lesser of two evils for most of us. I don’t blame you for not voting for him since, at the time, you didn’t know what we all know now. But at least John McCain was an American. He was a supporter of the American way of life and he understood that you can’t negotiate with terrorists. He understood and appreciated the sacrifice made by my father and other members of the Greatest Generation.

Mark my words friends. All across America groups are forming. They are forming out of anger and out of desperation at the thought of losing America . They’re not militia groups, terrorists as the Department of Homeland security would have you believe; they are Americans, loyal to the constitution. They are mothers and fathers and grandparents. They belong to groups like the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps, the Peaceful Resistance, the Constitution Party, the Young Conservatives, the 9/12 Project, and Grassfire. Right now they are fragmented, each focused on their own cause. But sometime in the next two years, our government is going to do something really stupid and these groups will come together. Watch for it, wait for it–get ready. It will happen.

When that event happens, whatever “it” is, our great country is going to plunge into chaos for a while. I pray to God that we make it through that time and emerge a stronger, smarter country.

Naval Aviator, Commander Jerry Wilson jerrywilson@centurytel.net Read More......