DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Ohio Police Arrest Five Foreign Nationals, Seize Passports After Search During Traffic Stop Yields Unexpected Find
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol incident summary, the group of men were initially stopped for an improper lane change. Once stopped, officers executed a probable cause search, where they found a machine that creates and duplicates credit cards.
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PAUL RYAN TELLS SEAN HANNITY HE WILL NOT SUPPORT ANY CUTS TO MUSLIM IMMIGRATION: ‘THAT’S NOT WHO WE ARE’
In an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, Ryan declared that considering an applicant’s religion would not be “appropriate” and would be fundamentally un-American— insisting “that’s not who we are.”
In his questioning of Ryan, Hannity cited populist thought leader
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), who chairs the Senate Immigration Subcommittee and whose office has put out a series of analyses in recent months detailing the enormous scope of immigration into the United States in general, as well as the vast scope Muslim immigration in particular.
Since 9/11, the U.S. has accepted more than 2 million immigrants, refugees and asylees from predominantly Muslim nations. Sessions has repeatedly called on Congress to reduce the number of green cards issued, including in an op-ed last week one day prior to the Paris attack.
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Nomi Prins: Crony Capitalism & Corruption - An Entirely Rigged Political-Financial System
Too big to fail is a seven-year phenomenon created by the most powerful central banks to bolster the largest, most politically connected US and European banks. More than that, it’s a global concern predicated on that handful of private banks controlling too much market share and elite central banks infusing them with boatloads of cheap capital and other aid.
Synthetic bank and market subsidization disguised as ‘monetary policy’ has spawned artificial asset and debt bubbles - everywhere. The most rapacious speculative capital and associated risk flows from these power-players to the least protected, or least regulated, locales.
There is no such thing as isolated 'Big Bank' problems. Rather, complex products, risky practices, leverage and co-dependent transactions have contagion ramifications, particularly in emerging markets whose histories are already lined with disproportionate shares of debt, interest rate and currency related travails.
The notion of free markets, mechanisms where buyers and sellers can meet to exchange securities or various kinds of goods, in which each participant has access to the same information, is a fallacy. Transparency in trading across global financial markets is a fallacy. Not only are markets rigged by, and for, the biggest players, so is the entire political-financial system.
The connection between democracy and free markets is interesting though. Democracy is predicated on the idea that every vote counts equally, and in the utopian perspective, the government adopts policies that benefit or adhere to the majority of those votes. In fact, it's the minority of elite families and private individuals that exercise the most control over America's policies and actions.
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Synthetic bank and market subsidization disguised as ‘monetary policy’ has spawned artificial asset and debt bubbles - everywhere. The most rapacious speculative capital and associated risk flows from these power-players to the least protected, or least regulated, locales.
There is no such thing as isolated 'Big Bank' problems. Rather, complex products, risky practices, leverage and co-dependent transactions have contagion ramifications, particularly in emerging markets whose histories are already lined with disproportionate shares of debt, interest rate and currency related travails.
The notion of free markets, mechanisms where buyers and sellers can meet to exchange securities or various kinds of goods, in which each participant has access to the same information, is a fallacy. Transparency in trading across global financial markets is a fallacy. Not only are markets rigged by, and for, the biggest players, so is the entire political-financial system.
The connection between democracy and free markets is interesting though. Democracy is predicated on the idea that every vote counts equally, and in the utopian perspective, the government adopts policies that benefit or adhere to the majority of those votes. In fact, it's the minority of elite families and private individuals that exercise the most control over America's policies and actions.
More
Shocked Grandmom Says She Would’ve Never Found Out About Teacher’s Islam Song if Her Grandson Didn’t Accidentally Bring the Lyrics Home
The song, set to the tune of the pop ballad “Fight Song,” was said by the teacher to be a tool to help her seventh-graders learn about the religion, according to KCAL-TV:
Like a sandstorm in the desert, sending camels into motion,The teacher then involved students, but Susan Negron, the grandmother of one student in the class, said she would not have known the middle schoolers were singing the song had her grandson not accidentally brought the lyrics home.
like how a single faith can make a heart open,
they might only have one god,
but they can make an explosion.
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The University Gone Feral
On campus, social norms no longer apply.
The university, long exempted from social norms and rules, has gone wild in the 21st century — or rather, regressed to pre-puberty.
The University of Missouri campus police now request that students — a group not known for polite vocabulary — call law enforcement if someone disparages them with hurtful names.
On the same campus, a media professor shouts for students in the vicinity to strong-arm a student photographer to stop him from taking pictures in a way that she does not approve. Other staff members try to block and push away a journalist they find bothersome.
On the same campus, a media professor shouts for students in the vicinity to strong-arm a student photographer to stop him from taking pictures in a way that she does not approve. Other staff members try to block and push away a journalist they find bothersome.
Since when do thuggish faculty, in Michael Corleone fashion, call in muscle to intimidate students who are exercising their First Amendment rights? Since when do quite privileged Yale students — in mini–Cultural Revolution style — surround and, teary-eyed, shout obscenities at their professor? Their target was declared to be guilty of some infraction against the people by an ad hoc court of whiny elites, poorly acting the role of the Committee of Public Safety. Apparently his offense was to suggest that students should not become hysterical when they see Halloween costumes they don’t like. Shouting down guest speakers, disrupting events, and mobbing individuals would not be tolerated at Disney World, so why on campus?
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ISIS Videos Show Children Training To Kill
Disturbing videos have been smuggled out of Syria by activists.
Posted by CNN on Thursday, November 19, 2015
Government Schools Are a Catastrophe
The 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress report, also known as The Nation’s Report Card, shows that U.S. educational achievement, to put it nicely, leaves much to be desired.
When it comes to reading and math skills, just 34 percent and 33 percent, respectively, of U.S. eighth-grade students tested proficient or above — that is, performed at grade level or above. Recent test scores show poor achievement levels in other academic areas. Only 18 percent of eighth-graders are proficient in U.S. history. It’s 27 percent in geography and 23 percent in civics.
The story is not much better when it comes to high schoolers. According to 2010 and 2013 NAEP test scores, only 38 percent of 12th-graders were proficient in reading. It was 26 percent in math, 12 percent in history, 20 percent in geography and 24 percent in civics (http://www.nationsreportcard.gov).
Many of these poorly performing youngsters gain college admission. The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education reports, “Every year in the United States, nearly 60 percent of first-year college students discover that, despite being fully eligible to attend college, they are not ready for postsecondary studies.” That means colleges spend billions of dollars on remedial education. Many of the students who enroll in those classes never graduate from college. The fact that many students are not college-ready takes on even greater significance when we consider that many college courses have been dumbed down.
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When it comes to reading and math skills, just 34 percent and 33 percent, respectively, of U.S. eighth-grade students tested proficient or above — that is, performed at grade level or above. Recent test scores show poor achievement levels in other academic areas. Only 18 percent of eighth-graders are proficient in U.S. history. It’s 27 percent in geography and 23 percent in civics.
The story is not much better when it comes to high schoolers. According to 2010 and 2013 NAEP test scores, only 38 percent of 12th-graders were proficient in reading. It was 26 percent in math, 12 percent in history, 20 percent in geography and 24 percent in civics (http://www.nationsreportcard.gov).
Many of these poorly performing youngsters gain college admission. The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education reports, “Every year in the United States, nearly 60 percent of first-year college students discover that, despite being fully eligible to attend college, they are not ready for postsecondary studies.” That means colleges spend billions of dollars on remedial education. Many of the students who enroll in those classes never graduate from college. The fact that many students are not college-ready takes on even greater significance when we consider that many college courses have been dumbed down.
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Rawlings-Blake calls for $6M in affordable housing gap financing
The mayor wants an affordable housing gap financing fund set up under Baltimore's November 2016 general obligation bond package. Voters would see it on the ballot next fall as a standalone initiative.
"This is the first time ever that bond funding will be marked specifically for affordable housing development," Rawlings-Blake said.
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Huma Abedin And State Department Staffer in Emails - Hillary ‘Often Confused,’ ‘In Bed For a Nap’
After reviewing more than 35 pages of email from top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, Judicial Watch observes that Abedin advised a State Department staffer that it was “very important” to review phone calls with Clinton because she was “often confused.”
Judicial Watch notes that Abedin emailed State Department Clinton aide and companion Monica Hanley from her “Huma@clintonemail.com” to alert her about the need to go over phone calls with Clinton.
Additionally, Abedin’s emails reveal “repeated security breaches, with the Secretary’s schedule and movements being sent and received through Abedin’s non-governmental and unsecured Clinton server account,” states Judicial Watch.
On January 26, 2013, Abedin had the following email exchange with Hanley:
Abedin: Have you been going over her calls with her? So she knows singh is at 8? [India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh]
Hanley: She was in bed for a nap by the time I heard that she had an 8am call. Will go over with her
Abedin: Very imp to do that. She’s often confused.
The emails also provide specific details of Clinton’s last day in office on January 31, 2013. Exact times and locations of all her appointments during the day are given.
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Judicial Watch notes that Abedin emailed State Department Clinton aide and companion Monica Hanley from her “Huma@clintonemail.com” to alert her about the need to go over phone calls with Clinton.
Additionally, Abedin’s emails reveal “repeated security breaches, with the Secretary’s schedule and movements being sent and received through Abedin’s non-governmental and unsecured Clinton server account,” states Judicial Watch.
On January 26, 2013, Abedin had the following email exchange with Hanley:
Abedin: Have you been going over her calls with her? So she knows singh is at 8? [India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh]
Hanley: She was in bed for a nap by the time I heard that she had an 8am call. Will go over with her
Abedin: Very imp to do that. She’s often confused.
The emails also provide specific details of Clinton’s last day in office on January 31, 2013. Exact times and locations of all her appointments during the day are given.
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Maryland agency has concerns over plan to create 1,000 hospital jobs
Maryland hospitals in September proposed a plan to create 1,000 jobs for low-income residents, paid for through a quarter-percent increase to hospital rates paid by private insurers, Medicare, Medicaid and uninsured individuals. Staff of the state's hospital rate-setting agency, which would need to approve the plan, said in a review and recommendation that the idea of creating jobs builds on the commission’s work to improve public health. But the staff expressed concern about whether the hospitals’ proposal stretched the rate-setting agency’s authority.
“All parties have acknowledged the importance of jobs in reducing economic disparities,” staff wrote in their report for the Health Services Cost Review Commission. “However, there are critical differences in thinking about how creating job opportunities should be addressed and who should provide the funding for job creation.”
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Free Thanksgiving dinners offered in Ocean City, Berlin
Celebrate Thanksgiving with a free meal and fellowship at two local churches.
For the 37th year, the Ocean City Baptist Church will be having its annual Thanksgiving dinner at the North Division Street parish.
Members of the church and community volunteers prepare and serve dinner which includes turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, string beans, cranberry sauce, pumpkin and cherry pie with whipped cream, coffee, tea, cider and rolls.
“It is a family event and we always tell people don’t be alone. It’s great fellowship and you always meet someone you never met before,” said Pastor Sean Davis.
About 150 volunteers will be on hand to help out during this year’s dinner and most live in the community.
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For the 37th year, the Ocean City Baptist Church will be having its annual Thanksgiving dinner at the North Division Street parish.
Members of the church and community volunteers prepare and serve dinner which includes turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, string beans, cranberry sauce, pumpkin and cherry pie with whipped cream, coffee, tea, cider and rolls.
“It is a family event and we always tell people don’t be alone. It’s great fellowship and you always meet someone you never met before,” said Pastor Sean Davis.
About 150 volunteers will be on hand to help out during this year’s dinner and most live in the community.
More
Police Civil Asset Forfeitures Exceed The Value Of All Burglaries In 2014
Between 1989 and 2010, U.S. attorneys seized an estimated $12.6 billion in asset forfeiture cases. The growth rate during that time averaged +19.4% annually.
In 2010 alone, the value of assets seized grew by +52.8% from 2009 and was six times greater than the total for 1989.
Then by 2014, that number had ballooned to roughly $4.5 billion for the year, making this 35% of the entire number of assets collected from 1989 to 2010 in a single year.
Now, according to the FBI, the total amount of goods stolen by criminals in 2014 burglary offenses suffered an estimated $3.9 billion in property losses. This means that the police are now taking more assets than the criminals.
The police have been violating the laws to confiscate assets all over the country. A scathing report on California warns of pervasive abuse by police to rob the people without proving that any crime occurred. Even Eric Holder came out in January suggesting reform because of the widespread abuse of the civil asset forfeiture laws by police.
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In 2010 alone, the value of assets seized grew by +52.8% from 2009 and was six times greater than the total for 1989.
Then by 2014, that number had ballooned to roughly $4.5 billion for the year, making this 35% of the entire number of assets collected from 1989 to 2010 in a single year.
Now, according to the FBI, the total amount of goods stolen by criminals in 2014 burglary offenses suffered an estimated $3.9 billion in property losses. This means that the police are now taking more assets than the criminals.
The police have been violating the laws to confiscate assets all over the country. A scathing report on California warns of pervasive abuse by police to rob the people without proving that any crime occurred. Even Eric Holder came out in January suggesting reform because of the widespread abuse of the civil asset forfeiture laws by police.
More
Man detained during riots suing Baltimore police
The alleged incident took place at the center of the unrest in April after Freddie Gray's death.
Branden Owens' lawsuit claims police officers violated his rights when he tried to go to a grocery store and asked two questions along the way.
"I just saw a group of police officers with shields and helmets," Owens said.
Unaware of the brewing tensions, Owens said he walked passed Frederick Douglass High School and tried to talk to officers on a hill outside the Shopper's grocery store at Mondawmin Mall. He asked them if the store was open but got no response. Then, the group of officers charged past him, the last officer striking him.
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Clinton Foundation amends four years of tax returns
The Clinton Foundation announced late Monday that it had amended its tax return forms from four separate years due to errors in the reporting of donations from foreign governments.
Foundation President Donna Shalala said in a statement that the returns were revised after a voluntary review of the charity's past tax returns. She added that the corrections were not required by law.
"There is no change in our bottom line numbers: assets, liabilities, and net assets," Shalala wrote in a statement to the foundation's supporters that was obtained by Reuters. "There is nothing to suggest that the Foundation intended to conceal the receipt of government grants, which we report on our website."
The amended Form 990 tax returns were for the years 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. An affiliated charity, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, also amended its returns for 2012 and 2013.
The foundation now reports receiving $20 million in government funds between 2010 and 2013, most of it from foreign governments. The foundation had neglected to state its government funding separately from other funding sources in its original returns.
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Foundation President Donna Shalala said in a statement that the returns were revised after a voluntary review of the charity's past tax returns. She added that the corrections were not required by law.
"There is no change in our bottom line numbers: assets, liabilities, and net assets," Shalala wrote in a statement to the foundation's supporters that was obtained by Reuters. "There is nothing to suggest that the Foundation intended to conceal the receipt of government grants, which we report on our website."
The amended Form 990 tax returns were for the years 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. An affiliated charity, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, also amended its returns for 2012 and 2013.
The foundation now reports receiving $20 million in government funds between 2010 and 2013, most of it from foreign governments. The foundation had neglected to state its government funding separately from other funding sources in its original returns.
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Can You ID Credit Card Fraud Suspect?
Credit card fraud suspect/can u id (15-43578) pic.twitter.com/JkPYR2zjII
— Salisbury Police (@SalisburyPD) November 19, 2015Can You ID 2 Shoplifters From Kohls?
Can u id 2 shoplifters from Kohls (15-42879) pic.twitter.com/884FEd0UHd
— Salisbury Police (@SalisburyPD) November 19, 2015Former NFL QB Doug Flutie says both parents die in same hour
BOSTON (AP) — Former NFL quarterback Doug Flutie says both of his parents died within an hour of each other.
Flutie said Wednesday on his Facebook page that father Dick died of a heart attack in a Florida hospital and that mother Joan also suffered a heart attack and died less than an hour later.
Flutie wrote: “They say you can die of a broken heart and I believe it.”
Flutie did not elaborate on the circumstances of their deaths, but called them “incredible parents and grandparents” who had been married for 56 years and were always there for their children.
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Flutie said Wednesday on his Facebook page that father Dick died of a heart attack in a Florida hospital and that mother Joan also suffered a heart attack and died less than an hour later.
Flutie wrote: “They say you can die of a broken heart and I believe it.”
Flutie did not elaborate on the circumstances of their deaths, but called them “incredible parents and grandparents” who had been married for 56 years and were always there for their children.
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BREAKING NEWS: House approves Syrian refugee screening bill
The House, in a 289-137 vote, approved a bill to toughen screening for Syrian and Iraqi refugees, with dozens of Democrats joining majority Republicans in defiance of a White House veto threat.
‘Close the Borders’ Movement Sweeping Nation
Backlash grows against Obama's migrant resettlement plan
Americans are starting to melt down phone lines in Washington, D.C., as backlash explodes against President Obama’s migrant resettlement program.
People are flooding social media to encourage Americans to call their congressional representatives to stop the resettlement of Middle Eastern migrants after government officials and contractors admitted the migrants cannot be tracked or vetted properly.
“Call your congressperson now and demand defunding Obama’s Syrian refugee plan,” one tweet of many states.
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Americans are starting to melt down phone lines in Washington, D.C., as backlash explodes against President Obama’s migrant resettlement program.
People are flooding social media to encourage Americans to call their congressional representatives to stop the resettlement of Middle Eastern migrants after government officials and contractors admitted the migrants cannot be tracked or vetted properly.
“Call your congressperson now and demand defunding Obama’s Syrian refugee plan,” one tweet of many states.
More
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