Friday, November 6, 2015

Barker's Newsbites: Friday, November 6, 2015


All the leaves are brown... and the sky is...

Well... actually... it's blue! 

And again... in the 60's here in New York's beautiful mid-Hudson Valley! (Not bad for November, huh?!)

Anyway... as always... you'll find my Newsbites stored within the Comments Section of this post.

Enjoy!



 

6 comments:

William R. Barker said...

http://www.businessinsider.com/labor-force-participation-rate-october-2015-2015-11

October's jobs report was full of good news, with non-farm payrolls dramatically beating expectations and average hourly earnings growing at a faster rate than at any time since the Great Recession.

* DON'T BELIEVE IT FOR A SECOND, FOLKS...!

(*GUFFAW*)

Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate remains at its 38-year low, with just 62.4% of American civilians over the age of 16 either working or looking for work.

(*SNORT*)

* BTW - U6 IS AT 9.8%

William R. Barker said...

http://freebeacon.com/politics/clinton-signed-nda-laying-out-criminal-penalties-for-mishandling-of-classified-info/

* I USED TO WRITE "DRIP... DRIP... DRIP" AS A HEADER FOR THESE POSTS... BUT FRANKLY... AT THIS POINT I'M NO LONGER CONFIDENT THAT ENOUGH PEOPLE CARE.

* MY HOPE THOUGH RESTS ON THIS ONE KEY REALITY: BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA IS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES; AND BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA DOES NOT WANT HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON TO EVER BE PRESIDENT.

(*SHRUG*)

As the nation’s chief diplomat, Hillary Clinton was responsible for ascertaining whether information in her possession was classified and acknowledged that “negligent handling” of that information could jeopardize national security, according to a copy of an agreement she signed upon taking the job.

A day after assuming office as secretary of state, Clinton signed a Sensitive Compartmented Information Nondisclosure Agreement that laid out criminal penalties for “any unauthorized disclosure” of classified information.

Experts have guessed that Clinton signed such an agreement, but a copy of her specific contract, obtained by the Competitive Enterprise Institute through an open records request and shared with the Washington Free Beacon, reveals for the first time the exact language of the NDA.

“I have been advised that the unauthorized disclosure, unauthorized retention, or negligent handling of SCI by me could cause irreparable injury to the United States or be used to advantage by a foreign nation,” the agreement states.

Clinton received at least two emails while secretary of state on her personal email server since marked “TS/SCI”—top secret/sensitive compartmented information—according to the U.S. intelligence community’s inspector general.

The State Department said in September that Clinton’s private email system, set up at her Chappaqua, N.Y., home, was not authorized to handle SCI.

The Democratic presidential frontrunner defended her unauthorized possession of SCI and her sending of emails containing classified information by claiming that the information was not marked as classified when it was sent or received.

The language of her NDA suggests it was Clinton’s responsibility to ascertain whether information shared through her private email server was, in fact, classified.

“I understand that it is my responsibility to consult with appropriate management authorities in the Department … in order to ensure that I know whether information or material within my knowledge or control that I have reason to believe might be SCI,” the agreement says.

The Clinton campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the NDA.

* READ THE FULL PIECE...

William R. Barker said...

http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/11/05/washingtons-muddled-message-in-the-south-china-sea-lassen-fon-subi/?wp_login_redirect=0

After months of internal debate, the Obama administration last week finally decided to dispatch a warship to challenge China’s far-reaching territorial claims in the South China Sea. But in the days since, U.S. officials have offered conflicting accounts of the operation, potentially undermining the whole point of the symbolic mission and raising doubts about whether Washington is ready to test Beijing’s claims at all.

The cruise of the guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen had been billed as a “freedom of navigation operation” that would make clear that Washington regards the seas around Beijing’s man-made islands in the South China Sea as international waters.

But over the last week, Pentagon and administration officials have struggled to explain exactly what the Lassen did when it sailed near Subi Reef, where China has constructed an island dredged from the sea floor.

When questioned by Foreign Policy, officials offered conflicting accounts as to whether the ship took steps to directly challenge China’s maritime claims in the strategic waterway — or whether it pulled its punches, tacitly conceding Beijing’s position.

* IT'S A F--KING NIGHTMARE, FOLKS...

(*SIGH*)

Initially, officials insisted the Lassen carried out a freedom of navigation operation, which could mean the vessel operated sonar, had its helicopters take off from the deck, or lingered in the area. But other officials said they could not confirm it was a freedom of navigation mission and that the ship may have refrained from any helicopter flights or intelligence gathering — and instead simply sailed through without loitering or circumnavigating the area.

Further adding to the confusion, the P-8 surveillance plane accompanying the Lassen appears to have stayed outside the 12-mile range of the man-made island, a boundary that delimits territorial seas and airspace.

Greg Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, which has carefully tracked China’s island-building binge, called it a potentially “huge blunder.” Jeff Smith, an Asia expert at the American Foreign Policy Council, said he is “stumped” by the administration’s confused description of the operation.

“If we portray it as an innocent passage, then we’re saying we’ve accepted China’s unlawful territorial claims,” said James Holmes, a professor of strategy at the U.S. Naval War College. “That’s a self-defeating message, not one the Navy or the Pentagon want to send.”

William R. Barker said...

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Man-Accused-in-Fatal-Hit-and-Run-Was-Deported-Six-Times-340531402.html

A man...

* AN ILLEGAL ALIEN..

... accused...

* GUILTY...

...in a fatal hit-and-run on Tuesday has been in and out of prison for years, had a suspended license, and has been deported for criminal offenses at least six times, court records show.

Ramon Jaime Horta was convicted in 2001 for sale and possession of a controlled substance and driving on a suspended license, according to Orange County Superior Court records. He got nine months in jail and was deported by immigration officials.

* JUST A QUESTION: WHAT WAS THE TAXPAYER TAB FOR THOSE NINE MONTHS? (PLUS OF COURSE THE POLICE/COURT COSTS FOR ARRESTING AND CONVICTING HIM.)

* I KNOW... NO ONE CARES...

(*SIGH*)

In 2008, the Santa Ana man pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell. He was sentenced to two years in state prison. This happened after he already been deported in 2002 and 2006.

(*SILENCE*)

(*TAKING A BREATH*)

* SO... WHAT WAS THE TAXPAYER TAB FOR THAT STATE PRISON STRETCH?

Horta did not have a valid license and was under the influence Tuesday when he allegedly struck and killed Marcello Bisarello in Santa Ana, police said.

* YES. "ALLEDGEDLY."

Horta was captured a few blocks away by a man who watched him take off.

(*FURTHER SILENCE*)

Horta had a prior DUI conviction, police said. He also had a probation violation in 2005. According to immigration and customs officials there were two more deportations in 2009 and 2012.

Horta was deported in 2001, 2002, 2006, 2009 and 2012. He has criminal convictions for battery, drug possession and various other misdemeanor convictions.

* I WONDER IF HORTA HAS... PROCREATED.

(*SMIRK*)

* I WONDER HOW MUCH THE "TAB" WOULD COME TO IF SOMEONE WERE TO TALLY UP ALL THE TAXPAYER DOLLARS HORTA HAS COST THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER.

Officials with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged an immigration detainer against Horta with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department requesting notification before his release. That will allowed immigration officials to take him into custody.

* OH... AND AS OF THE PUBLICATION DATE OF THIS ARTICLE:

Charges in Tuesday's hit and run have not been filed.

William R. Barker said...

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/11/hillary-clinton-email-no-highly-classified-215599

* AND SPEAKING OF POLITICO...

(*SNORT*)

The U.S. intelligence community has retreated from claims that two emails in Hillary Clinton’s private account contained top secret information, a source familiar with the situation told POLITICO.

* UH-HUH. "RETREATED."

(*GUFFAW*)

The determination came from Director of National Intelligence James Clapper’s office...

* CLAPPER'S OFFICE...

(*STILL CHUCKLING*)

Intelligence Community Inspector General I. Charles McCullough III made the claim that two of the emails contained top secret information, the State Department publicly stated its disagreement and asked Clapper’s office to referee the dispute. Now, that disagreement has been resolved in State’s favor, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

* FOLKS. THIS IS OBAMA. ONE DAY IT'S "THE STICK"... THE NEXT IT'S "THE CARROT."

Various officials have confirmed that none of the Clinton emails were marked classified, although hundreds have now been deemed as such by State...

* HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! A PARODY OF A SATIRE!

William R. Barker said...

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/11/06/ben-carson-backs-white-houses-tpp-trade-deal/

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said Friday that he supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement negotiated by the White House...

* I DON'T SUPPORT THE TPP.

Mr. Carson had expressed skepticism about the TPP, saying in a June interview with the Huffington Post that he would not give President Barack Obama “fast-track” authority to negotiate the deal.

Now, a day after the White House posted the text of the TPP deal online, Mr. Carson’s campaign said Friday that he supports the final product.

* OK. (*SHRUG*) WHERE'S THE CONTRADICTION? (ANSWER: NOWHERE.) ONE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE OTHER. ONE IS ABOUT PROCEDURE; THE OTHER IS ABOUT THE ACTUAL TREATY.

* AGAIN... I'M AGAINST TPP. BUT ONE CAN BE FOR IT AND YET STILL BE AGAINST FAST-TRACK AUTHORITY.

Mr. Carson, spokesman Doug Watts said, “believes the agreement does help to level the playing field in key markets and is important to improve our ties to trading partners in Asia as a counterbalance to China’s influence in the region.” Mr. Watts said Mr. Carson is “now inclined to support TPP, with reservations.”

* OK. (*SHRUG*) IF CARSON READ THE BILL AND SUPPORTS IT... (*SHRUG*) I MYSELF HAVEN'T READ IT. YET I STILL OPPOSE IT BASED UPON MY DISTRUST OF OBAMA AND THE RINOs. (YEAH... OBAMA... AND THE RINOs.) PERHAPS I'M WRONG. PERHAPS CARSON KNOWS SOMETHING I DON'T. I'M SURE WE'LL BE DISCUSSING THIS FURTHER...

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who had backed the “fast-track” legislation aimed at expediting TPP approval, backed away from the bill because he said Republicans couldn’t trust Mr. Obama and said approving the deal would open American companies to increased foreign competition and boost illegal immigration.

* AND THIS IS THE FLIP-SIDE OF CARSON'S TAKE.

* ME? I WAS AGAINST BOTH FAST TRACK AND TPP AND STILL AM. PERHAPS I SHOULD BE OUR NATION'S NEXT PRESIDENT?!

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told the Wall Street Journal last month that he opposes the TPP unless it includes enforceable rules to prevent currency manipulation.

Still backing the trade legislation are the party’s establishment wing candidates: Sen. Marco Rubio and former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida and Govs. John Kasich of Ohio and Chris Christie of New Jersey.

Mr. Rubio’s spokesman said that although he backed the bill granting Mr. Obama fast-track trade authority this summer, he has not decided whether to support TPP legislation.