For all you boxing fans out there (*tumbleweeds blow by*) Jack Johnson just got a long overdue posthumous pardon.
On the one hand, Jack Johnson deserves to be pardoned. On the other hand, he's been dead for 80 years. If Trump wants to make a symbolic gesture towards African-Americans, he could start by commuting the sentences of people doing long prison sentences for nothing but drug possession charges.
When you say African-Americans, do you mean Whites and Blacks from Africa? How about Jamaicans who happen to be Black? How about Europeans who happen to be Black? Can't leave them out. They where part of the slave trade too, especially Blacks from Portugal and the Middle East.
He said "African-Americans". It's the word people in America use for Black people. It's not the best phrase, there are flaws like you mentioned - black people that aren't from Africa or a British black guy who visits America.
At any rate, I believe his point was that this posthumous pardon for a guy that's been dead for a long time is nice but it doesn't do anything for black people TODAY who are subject to discrimination and things of that nature.
This may seem harmless, mean, ignorant or stupid but it actually is not harmless. Black people have been shot for less than barbecuing by police. In fact police violence and abuse towards black people was the whole reason Colin Kaepernick took a knee on the NFL football field. On the same day he pardoned Johnson, Trump said people who kneel should be deported.
I agree that Trump is a ........ but I do not believe that he is the one that is suppose to quell what others have started. Obama didn't give a shit either.
On another note, did beamdog fix, what had to be fixed, so that your Soundset mods work for BG EE and in SoD?
I agree that Trump is a ........ but I do not believe that he is the one that is suppose to quell what others have started. Obama didn't give a shit either.
On another note, did beamdog fix, what had to be fixed, so that your Soundset mods work for BG EE and in SoD?
Obama did what he could, which wasn't much considering 6 years of Republican obstruction in Congress. He made some efforts to get police training and things of that nature to make them less trigger happy. Not enough and we're going backwards these days as the focus is solely on Cops safety - which can be seen by some as a blank check or "I'm above the law" unfortunately.
I'd discuss the mod issues in the mod thread, but as far as I know there still hasn't been a patch for BGEE so no it's still not working there.
I agree that Trump is a ........ but I do not believe that he is the one that is suppose to quell what others have started. Obama didn't give a shit either.
On another note, did beamdog fix, what had to be fixed, so that your Soundset mods work for BG EE and in SoD?
Obama did what he could, which wasn't much considering 6 years of Republican obstruction in Congress. He made some efforts to get police training and things of that nature to make them less trigger happy. Not enough and we're going backwards these days as the focus is solely on Cops safety - which can be seen by some as a blank check or "I'm above the law" unfortunately.
I'd discuss the mod issues in the mod thread, but as far as I know there still hasn't been a patch for BGEE so no it's still not working there.
Did Obama need Congress when he went rogue and made a Jizya-ish payment to Iran? The guy did nothing, Bush did nothing, Clinton did nothing, Pappa Bush did nothing, Reagan did nothing, Carter did nothing.....
Sorry for asking about your mod in this thread. Didn't know it's a forum faux pas.
I agree that Trump is a ........ but I do not believe that he is the one that is suppose to quell what others have started. Obama didn't give a shit either.
On another note, did beamdog fix, what had to be fixed, so that your Soundset mods work for BG EE and in SoD?
Obama did what he could, which wasn't much considering 6 years of Republican obstruction in Congress. He made some efforts to get police training and things of that nature to make them less trigger happy. Not enough and we're going backwards these days as the focus is solely on Cops safety - which can be seen by some as a blank check or "I'm above the law" unfortunately.
I'd discuss the mod issues in the mod thread, but as far as I know there still hasn't been a patch for BGEE so no it's still not working there.
Did Obama need Congress when he went rogue and made a Jizya-ish payment to Iran? The guy did nothing, Bush did nothing, Clinton did nothing, Pappa Bush did nothing, Reagan did nothing, Carter did nothing.....
Sorry for asking about your mod in this thread. Didn't know it's a forum faux pas.
I don't know about faux paus, I just prefer to keep things separate. And I don't discuss politics there either..
Jizya-ish? I don't know what that means. But yes he did repay Iran the money that we seized from them before, so he returned their money. Not sure what that has to do with law and order and police brutality of minorities.
I agree that Trump is a ........ but I do not believe that he is the one that is suppose to quell what others have started. Obama didn't give a shit either.
On another note, did beamdog fix, what had to be fixed, so that your Soundset mods work for BG EE and in SoD?
Obama did what he could, which wasn't much considering 6 years of Republican obstruction in Congress. He made some efforts to get police training and things of that nature to make them less trigger happy. Not enough and we're going backwards these days as the focus is solely on Cops safety - which can be seen by some as a blank check or "I'm above the law" unfortunately.
I'd discuss the mod issues in the mod thread, but as far as I know there still hasn't been a patch for BGEE so no it's still not working there.
Did Obama need Congress when he went rogue and made a Jizya-ish payment to Iran? The guy did nothing, Bush did nothing, Clinton did nothing, Pappa Bush did nothing, Reagan did nothing, Carter did nothing.....
Sorry for asking about your mod in this thread. Didn't know it's a forum faux pas.
I don't know about faux paus, I just prefer to keep things separate. And I don't discuss politics there either..
Jizya-ish? I don't know what that means. But yes he did repay Iran the money that we seized from them before, so he returned their money. Not sure what that has to do with law and order and police brutality of minorities.
He was more concerned with giving Iran a hostage payment than using that money to start programs and other teaching aids for police training.
The revelations come as Congress returns from a summer recess with Republicans vowing to pursue charges that the White House paid ransom to Tehran, a charge President Barack Obama has repeatedly rejected. Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) introduced legislation on Tuesday that would bar such payments to Iran in the future and seeks to reclaim the $1.7 billion for victims of Iranian-backed terrorism.
The Obama administration briefed lawmakers on Tuesday, telling them that two further portions of the $1.3 billion were transferred though Europe on Jan. 22 and Feb. 5. The payment “flowed in the same manner” as the original $400 million that an Iranian cargo plane picked up in Geneva, Switzerland, according to a congressional aide who took part in the briefing.
The $400 million was converted into non-U.S. currencies by the Swiss and Dutch central banks, according to U.S. and European officials.
The Treasury Department confirmed late Tuesday that the subsequent payments were also made in cash.
“The form of those principal and interest payments—made in non-U.S. currency, in cash—was necessitated by the effectiveness of U.S. and international sanctions regimes over the last several years in isolating Iran from the international financial system,” Treasury spokeswoman Dawn Selak said.
Administration officials from Treasury, State and Justice convened the congressional briefing on Tuesday morning in the basement of the Capitol building in Washington. Staff from the House committees on Foreign Affairs, Financial Services, Armed Services and Appropriations were among those who also attended, according to congressional aides.
The Obama administration previously had refused to disclose the mechanics of the $1.7 billion settlement, despite repeated calls from U.S. lawmakers. The State Department announced the settlement on Jan. 17 but didn’t brief Congress that the entire amount had been paid in cash.
U.S. lawmakers have voiced concern that Iran’s military units, particularly the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, would use the cash to finance military allies in the Middle East, including the Assad regime in Syria, Houthi militias in Yemen, and the Lebanese militia, Hezbollah.
Sanctions impair Tehran’s ability to receive payments using the international banking system.
The settlement resulted from a legal arbitration under way in the Netherlands since the early 1980s between the U.S. and Iran. At issue was a $400 million payment Tehran’s last monarch, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, made to a Pentagon trust fund just months before his government was toppled. The money was earmarked for airplane parts that were never delivered.
Obama administration officials have said they believed the U.S. was set to lose the court proceedings in The Hague and would end up being liable for as much as $10 billion because of accrued interest. Republican lawmakers have argued the initial $400 million shouldn’t be repaid to Iran and instead should have been used to compensate the victims of Iranian-backed terrorism.
The bill introduced by congressional Republicans on Tuesday would block the Treasury Department from making any payments to Iran until Tehran returns the $1.7 billion to the U.S. and pays the American terrorism victims. Three dual U.S.-Iranian citizens are still being held in Iran.
“The U.S. government should not be in the business of negotiating with terrorists and paying ransom money in exchange for the release of American hostages,” Mr. Rubio said.
I agree that Trump is a ........ but I do not believe that he is the one that is suppose to quell what others have started. Obama didn't give a shit either.
On another note, did beamdog fix, what had to be fixed, so that your Soundset mods work for BG EE and in SoD?
Obama did what he could, which wasn't much considering 6 years of Republican obstruction in Congress. He made some efforts to get police training and things of that nature to make them less trigger happy. Not enough and we're going backwards these days as the focus is solely on Cops safety - which can be seen by some as a blank check or "I'm above the law" unfortunately.
I'd discuss the mod issues in the mod thread, but as far as I know there still hasn't been a patch for BGEE so no it's still not working there.
Did Obama need Congress when he went rogue and made a Jizya-ish payment to Iran? The guy did nothing, Bush did nothing, Clinton did nothing, Pappa Bush did nothing, Reagan did nothing, Carter did nothing.....
Sorry for asking about your mod in this thread. Didn't know it's a forum faux pas.
I don't know about faux paus, I just prefer to keep things separate. And I don't discuss politics there either..
Jizya-ish? I don't know what that means. But yes he did repay Iran the money that we seized from them before, so he returned their money. Not sure what that has to do with law and order and police brutality of minorities.
He was more concerned with giving Iran a hostage payment than using that money to start programs and other teaching aids for police training.
The revelations come as Congress returns from a summer recess with Republicans vowing to pursue charges that the White House paid ransom to Tehran, a charge President Barack Obama has repeatedly rejected. Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) introduced legislation on Tuesday that would bar such payments to Iran in the future and seeks to reclaim the $1.7 billion for victims of Iranian-backed terrorism.
The Obama administration briefed lawmakers on Tuesday, telling them that two further portions of the $1.3 billion were transferred though Europe on Jan. 22 and Feb. 5. The payment “flowed in the same manner” as the original $400 million that an Iranian cargo plane picked up in Geneva, Switzerland, according to a congressional aide who took part in the briefing.
The $400 million was converted into non-U.S. currencies by the Swiss and Dutch central banks, according to U.S. and European officials.
The Treasury Department confirmed late Tuesday that the subsequent payments were also made in cash.
“The form of those principal and interest payments—made in non-U.S. currency, in cash—was necessitated by the effectiveness of U.S. and international sanctions regimes over the last several years in isolating Iran from the international financial system,” Treasury spokeswoman Dawn Selak said.
Administration officials from Treasury, State and Justice convened the congressional briefing on Tuesday morning in the basement of the Capitol building in Washington. Staff from the House committees on Foreign Affairs, Financial Services, Armed Services and Appropriations were among those who also attended, according to congressional aides.
The Obama administration previously had refused to disclose the mechanics of the $1.7 billion settlement, despite repeated calls from U.S. lawmakers. The State Department announced the settlement on Jan. 17 but didn’t brief Congress that the entire amount had been paid in cash.
U.S. lawmakers have voiced concern that Iran’s military units, particularly the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, would use the cash to finance military allies in the Middle East, including the Assad regime in Syria, Houthi militias in Yemen, and the Lebanese militia, Hezbollah.
Sanctions impair Tehran’s ability to receive payments using the international banking system.
The settlement resulted from a legal arbitration under way in the Netherlands since the early 1980s between the U.S. and Iran. At issue was a $400 million payment Tehran’s last monarch, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, made to a Pentagon trust fund just months before his government was toppled. The money was earmarked for airplane parts that were never delivered.
Obama administration officials have said they believed the U.S. was set to lose the court proceedings in The Hague and would end up being liable for as much as $10 billion because of accrued interest. Republican lawmakers have argued the initial $400 million shouldn’t be repaid to Iran and instead should have been used to compensate the victims of Iranian-backed terrorism.
The bill introduced by congressional Republicans on Tuesday would block the Treasury Department from making any payments to Iran until Tehran returns the $1.7 billion to the U.S. and pays the American terrorism victims. Three dual U.S.-Iranian citizens are still being held in Iran.
“The U.S. government should not be in the business of negotiating with terrorists and paying ransom money in exchange for the release of American hostages,” Mr. Rubio said.
That money could never have been used for domestic programs. It never belonged to the US.
I agree that Trump is a ........ but I do not believe that he is the one that is suppose to quell what others have started. Obama didn't give a shit either.
On another note, did beamdog fix, what had to be fixed, so that your Soundset mods work for BG EE and in SoD?
Obama did what he could, which wasn't much considering 6 years of Republican obstruction in Congress. He made some efforts to get police training and things of that nature to make them less trigger happy. Not enough and we're going backwards these days as the focus is solely on Cops safety - which can be seen by some as a blank check or "I'm above the law" unfortunately.
I'd discuss the mod issues in the mod thread, but as far as I know there still hasn't been a patch for BGEE so no it's still not working there.
Did Obama need Congress when he went rogue and made a Jizya-ish payment to Iran? The guy did nothing, Bush did nothing, Clinton did nothing, Pappa Bush did nothing, Reagan did nothing, Carter did nothing.....
Sorry for asking about your mod in this thread. Didn't know it's a forum faux pas.
I don't know about faux paus, I just prefer to keep things separate. And I don't discuss politics there either..
Jizya-ish? I don't know what that means. But yes he did repay Iran the money that we seized from them before, so he returned their money. Not sure what that has to do with law and order and police brutality of minorities.
He was more concerned with giving Iran a hostage payment than using that money to start programs and other teaching aids for police training.
The revelations come as Congress returns from a summer recess with Republicans vowing to pursue charges that the White House paid ransom to Tehran, a charge President Barack Obama has repeatedly rejected. Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) introduced legislation on Tuesday that would bar such payments to Iran in the future and seeks to reclaim the $1.7 billion for victims of Iranian-backed terrorism.
The Obama administration briefed lawmakers on Tuesday, telling them that two further portions of the $1.3 billion were transferred though Europe on Jan. 22 and Feb. 5. The payment “flowed in the same manner” as the original $400 million that an Iranian cargo plane picked up in Geneva, Switzerland, according to a congressional aide who took part in the briefing.
The $400 million was converted into non-U.S. currencies by the Swiss and Dutch central banks, according to U.S. and European officials.
The Treasury Department confirmed late Tuesday that the subsequent payments were also made in cash.
“The form of those principal and interest payments—made in non-U.S. currency, in cash—was necessitated by the effectiveness of U.S. and international sanctions regimes over the last several years in isolating Iran from the international financial system,” Treasury spokeswoman Dawn Selak said.
Administration officials from Treasury, State and Justice convened the congressional briefing on Tuesday morning in the basement of the Capitol building in Washington. Staff from the House committees on Foreign Affairs, Financial Services, Armed Services and Appropriations were among those who also attended, according to congressional aides.
The Obama administration previously had refused to disclose the mechanics of the $1.7 billion settlement, despite repeated calls from U.S. lawmakers. The State Department announced the settlement on Jan. 17 but didn’t brief Congress that the entire amount had been paid in cash.
U.S. lawmakers have voiced concern that Iran’s military units, particularly the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, would use the cash to finance military allies in the Middle East, including the Assad regime in Syria, Houthi militias in Yemen, and the Lebanese militia, Hezbollah.
Sanctions impair Tehran’s ability to receive payments using the international banking system.
The settlement resulted from a legal arbitration under way in the Netherlands since the early 1980s between the U.S. and Iran. At issue was a $400 million payment Tehran’s last monarch, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, made to a Pentagon trust fund just months before his government was toppled. The money was earmarked for airplane parts that were never delivered.
Obama administration officials have said they believed the U.S. was set to lose the court proceedings in The Hague and would end up being liable for as much as $10 billion because of accrued interest. Republican lawmakers have argued the initial $400 million shouldn’t be repaid to Iran and instead should have been used to compensate the victims of Iranian-backed terrorism.
The bill introduced by congressional Republicans on Tuesday would block the Treasury Department from making any payments to Iran until Tehran returns the $1.7 billion to the U.S. and pays the American terrorism victims. Three dual U.S.-Iranian citizens are still being held in Iran.
“The U.S. government should not be in the business of negotiating with terrorists and paying ransom money in exchange for the release of American hostages,” Mr. Rubio said.
That money could never have been used for domestic programs. It never belonged to the US.
It's funny hardcore US politicians keep waving the terrorism card with Iran. Seriously, I don't remember Iran attacking US interests home or abroad, or maybe I should be given an exemple. Yemen doesn't count because the Saudi coalition is far from being white and it's not against the USA either and Syria also doesn't because here the USA are far from clean too (well, in Syria it feels no one is) and again it's not directed against the USA.
However on the other hand as I mentioned the USA themselves did mess a lot with Iran. The Iran Air Flight 655 had everything of a terrorist attack. A reckless captain moves the ship within Iran territorial water (a fact the US administration denied for years before finally acknowledging it) because well, you know, shitty GPS and then shot down a passenger plane because well... you know on these terrible state of the art AEGIS systems these look like F-14... feels like heckle & jeckle managed this if you read the official story.
Captain was decorated and made a hero, killing nearly 300 innocent people is worthy of praise I assume.
PS: the USA are not the only ones here playing at shooting down planes, at least they claimed it was an accident as dubious as it seems. The Soviet Union shot two, acknowleding it did on purpose. Israel shot one, acknowledging it did on purpose AND violating in the process the airspace of a neighbouring country (Egypt), Russian insurgent in Ukraine shot one (apparently confused with a cargo plane).
It's funny hardcore US politicians keep waving the terrorism card with Iran. Seriously, I don't remember Iran attacking US interests home or abroad, or maybe I should be given an exemple. Yemen doesn't count because the Saudi coalition is far from being white and it's not against the USA either and Syria also doesn't because here the USA are far from clean too (well, in Syria it feels no one is) and again it's not directed against the USA.
However on the other hand as I mentioned the USA themselves did mess a lot with Iran. The Iran Air Flight 655 had everything of a terrorist attack. A reckless captain moves the ship within Iran territorial water (a fact the US administration denied for years before finally acknowledging it) because well, you know, shitty GPS and then shot down a passenger plane because well... you know on these terrible state of the art AEGIS systems these look like F-14... feels like heckle & jeckle managed this if you read the official story.
Captain was decorated and made a hero, killing nearly 300 innocent people is worthy of praise I assume.
PS: the USA are not the only ones here playing at shooting down planes, at least they claimed it was an accident as dubious as it seems. The Soviet Union shot two, acknowleding it did on purpose. Israel shot one, acknowledging it did on purpose AND violating in the process the airspace of a neighbouring country (Egypt), Russian insurgent in Ukraine shot one (apparently confused with a cargo plane).
I understand what you're saying, but....
It's not the governments of the world that are at fault, it's the peoples of the world who are to blame. As soon as we realize that we ALL share the blame the faster we throw these tyrants out and get real change. If we don't buy into their divisive ideologies, there is no hate. No hate, no WAR.
Obama didn't send money to Iran because he's a nice guy, It was a divisive move. Trump didn't say that the U.S. would put their embassy in Jerusalem because he cares about Jews, It was a divisive move. The IDF does not kill palestinians because they are scared of them jumping a fence, It's a divisive move.
The day we all stop buying into the elites shenanigans is the day they kneel down to us and real peace will be made within all of man kind.
It's funny hardcore US politicians keep waving the terrorism card with Iran. Seriously, I don't remember Iran attacking US interests home or abroad, or maybe I should be given an exemple. Yemen doesn't count because the Saudi coalition is far from being white and it's not against the USA either and Syria also doesn't because here the USA are far from clean too (well, in Syria it feels no one is) and again it's not directed against the USA.
However on the other hand as I mentioned the USA themselves did mess a lot with Iran. The Iran Air Flight 655 had everything of a terrorist attack. A reckless captain moves the ship within Iran territorial water (a fact the US administration denied for years before finally acknowledging it) because well, you know, shitty GPS and then shot down a passenger plane because well... you know on these terrible state of the art AEGIS systems these look like F-14... feels like heckle & jeckle managed this if you read the official story.
Captain was decorated and made a hero, killing nearly 300 innocent people is worthy of praise I assume.
PS: the USA are not the only ones here playing at shooting down planes, at least they claimed it was an accident as dubious as it seems. The Soviet Union shot two, acknowleding it did on purpose. Israel shot one, acknowledging it did on purpose AND violating in the process the airspace of a neighbouring country (Egypt), Russian insurgent in Ukraine shot one (apparently confused with a cargo plane).
I understand what you're saying, but....
It's not the governments of the world that are at fault, it's the peoples of the world who are to blame. As soon as we realize that we ALL share the blame the faster we throw these tyrants out and get real change. If we don't buy into their divisive ideologies, there is no hate. No hate, no WAR.
Obama didn't send money to Iran because he's a nice guy, It was a divisive move. Trump didn't say that the U.S. would put their embassy in Jerusalem because he cares about Jews, It was a divisive move. The IDF does not kill palestinians because they are scared of them jumping a fence, It's a divisive move.
The day we all stop buying into the elites shenanigans is the day they kneel down to us and real peace will be made within all of man kind.
And we'll all sit together around the campfire and sing Kumbaya. Lookin' forward to it!
The Trump Administration is losing children. Not losing their vote, LITERALLY losing children. Not by the dozens, or even the hundreds, but by the THOUSANDS:
Which relates to the fact that when migrants are caught crossing the border illegally, we are DELIBERATELY and in some cases, PERMANENTLY (because of the situation mentioned in the previous article) separating them from their children. For crossing an imaginary line in the sand, we are destroying families, and doing so on purpose:
The Trump Administration is losing children. Not losing their vote, LITERALLY losing children. Not by the dozens, or even the hundreds, but by the THOUSANDS:
Which relates to the fact that when migrants are caught crossing the border illegally, we are DELIBERATELY and in some cases, PERMANENTLY (because of the situation mentioned in the previous article) separating them from their children. For crossing an imaginary line in the sand, we are destroying families, and doing so on purpose:
So nations shouldn't have borders? Or are you suggesting that immigration laws should not be enforced?
This problem has been going on for a lot longer than Trump has been in office--it isn't only his Administration which has failed in that regard. The problem is that these people are trying to enter the United States *illegally*. If you tried to sneak into a foreign country and get caught, should they deal with you according to their laws or are they supposed to play-hit you on the arm and say "tag, you're it"?
Some of the people who come here have contracted their entry with coyotes, who are more than willing to accept non-monetary forms of payment such as a child or teenager; these are the ones who definitely wind up being trafficked. There was another trailer found recently but at least it wasn't August here so only 2 people needed hospitalization.
On the other hand, some poor woman got shot and killed in Rio Bravo (yes, that is an actual town and not just a movie) by CBP agents claiming "self-defense" after she threw "blunt objects" at them. In other CBP news, CNN only yesterday had a story reminding everyone that CBP has increased powers of surveillance and arrest/detainment within 100 miles of the border; that area of the nation contains two-thirds of our entire population and many of the most-populous cities.
*************
In other other news, Harvey Weinstein went back to New York City to turn himself in.
So nations shouldn't have borders? Or are you suggesting that immigration laws should not be enforced?
This problem has been going on for a lot longer than Trump has been in office--it isn't only his Administration which has failed in that regard. The problem is that these people are trying to enter the United States *illegally*. If you tried to sneak into a foreign country and get caught, should they deal with you according to their laws or are they supposed to play-hit you on the arm and say "tag, you're it"?
Some of the people who come here have contracted their entry with coyotes, who are more than willing to accept non-monetary forms of payment such as a child or teenager; these are the ones who definitely wind up being trafficked. There was another trailer found recently but at least it wasn't August here so only 2 people needed hospitalization.
On the other hand, some poor woman got shot and killed in Rio Bravo (yes, that is an actual town and not just a movie) by CBP agents claiming "self-defense" after she threw "blunt objects" at them. In other CBP news, CNN only yesterday had a story reminding everyone that CBP has increased powers of surveillance and arrest/detainment within 100 miles of the border; that area of the nation contains two-thirds of our entire population and many of the most-populous cities.
*************
In other other news, Harvey Weinstein went back to New York City to turn himself in.
I'm saying if we remove their children from them (and why the hell aren't they placed in a detention center TOGETHER rather than separated??), then we should at least be able to KEEP TRACK OF THEM, rather than losing thousands of them. Trump and Jeff Sessions have made it an EXPLICIT policy to separate children from parents if they are caught crossing the border. To what purpose?? There is none besides xenophobic spite. And we flat-out can't even tell them where there kids are in many situations. The moment we engage in this action, that kid becomes OUR responsibility. As the NY Times article states, a process was put in place in 2016 to prevent this, but the Trump Administration in the last 18 months seems to have (big shock) not followed through on the policy, resulting in the flat-out disappearance of 1500 children. Based on these numbers, there is about a 1 in 6 chance any child under the purview of this agency is just going to go missing, and since we are now a.) ostensibly detaining more people at the border, rather than just sending them back and b.) purposefully separating children from their parents, even MORE children are likely to suffer this fate. The answer when a parent who has crossed the border illegally go back to their country and ask "where is my child??" cannot be "I don't know", or, in the specific case of the second article "somewhere in Texas".
I agree--the situation is not ideal under any circumstances. We are turning these agencies into Federal versions of CPS officers, most of whom are also overworked and sometimes lose track of children.
I agree--the situation is not ideal under any circumstances. We are turning these agencies into Federal versions of CPS officers, most of whom are also overworked and sometimes lose track of children.
Crossing the border is indeed technically a criminal act, but what benefit is there to us imprisoning those people and sending their kid to (at best) some foster family who may, it turns out, just lose track of them altogether?? I would imagine even CONSERVATIVES who hate illegal immigration also aren't too keen on paying money to house these people in jail, much less the work that needs to go into keeping track of these children. What should the punishment for simply crossing the border be besides a brief detention period and a release back across to the other side?? This is another situation (just like in multi-million dollar payments because of police brutality) where for many conservatives, the so-called "fiscal responsibility" trope just flies out the window because it conflicts with this need to be utterly vindictive and dish our punishment. In this mindset, we definitely need to cut food stamps, but paying out settlements because cops kill or beat unarmed civilians is just the cost of doing business. Likewise, they want to keep Mexican immigrants out of the country, but have no problem with taxpayer dollars being used to jail them simply for crossing the border (which is IMMENSELY costly) and to put their children into an endless social services loop, assuming they don't end up chained in a closet in the basement of some child molester.
I would assume this is the woman you are referring to being shot (the article will have be translated if one wants to read it):
It'd be best when there is open border movement between US, Mex and Canada. Then we can all sing kumbaya around the campfire. Will that day ever happen? Not in the forseeable future with guys like Trump or McConnell or Republican X,Y,Z in office no and not without changes on the other side too.
Most trafficked children/teenagers wind up as sex workers or essentially slaves for some farm but, yes, some of them could wind up in that basement. With every passing day, though, it become more clear that comprehensive immigration reform needs to come from Congress. I doubt we are past the saturation point where we simply cannot afford to take in any more people but the current system is broken.
Yes, that's her. Democracy Now did not name her, only mentioning the story in brief. That is DN's greatest weakness--it gives a bunch of story blurbs but doesn't really go into detail on most topics. I understood most of the article without needing translation, though--I still retain enough literacy in Spanish for that even though I can't really speak it like I used to.
Rachel Dolezal has been charged with fraud for collecting several thousand dollars in welfare.
For reference, Ms. Dolezal was the woman who used to be President of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP and had been presenting herself as a black woman for years until it was discovered that, ethnically, she was not black. At the time, this caused a controversy because some people who accepted that gender could be self-defined concluded that ethnicity could *not* be self-defined.
Rachel Dolezal has been charged with fraud for collecting several thousand dollars in welfare.
For reference, Ms. Dolezal was the woman who used to be President of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP and had been presenting herself as a black woman for years until it was discovered that, ethnically, she was not black. At the time, this caused a controversy because some people who accepted that gender could be self-defined concluded that ethnicity could *not* be self-defined.
I disagreed very strongly with that notion, and I too noted the inconsistency--if gender and sexuality are not 100% tied to biology, why doesn't that hold for the equally arbitrary class of race? The only other time I can think of when people objected to folks of one race passing as another were anti-miscegenation people who didn't like the idea of mixed-race people passing as white! I have trouble objecting to the concept of a white person literally walking in the shoes of a black person and voluntarily exposing themselves to discrimination in order to better understand other people. Why defend racial categorization when we've known for decades that race itself is 99% a myth that has no grounding in genetics and was invented for the sole reason of marginalizing people of color?
But welfare fraud? That's an actual crime that causes actual damage to society. You're stealing taxpayer money. That's a real scandal.
Rachel Dolezal has been charged with fraud for collecting several thousand dollars in welfare.
For reference, Ms. Dolezal was the woman who used to be President of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP and had been presenting herself as a black woman for years until it was discovered that, ethnically, she was not black. At the time, this caused a controversy because some people who accepted that gender could be self-defined concluded that ethnicity could *not* be self-defined.
I disagreed very strongly with that notion, and I too noted the inconsistency--if gender and sexuality are not 100% tied to biology, why doesn't that hold for the equally arbitrary class of race? The only other time I can think of when people objected to folks of one race passing as another were anti-miscegenation people who didn't like the idea of mixed-race people passing as white! I have trouble objecting to the concept of a white person literally walking in the shoes of a black person and voluntarily exposing themselves to discrimination in order to better understand other people. Why defend racial categorization when we've known for decades that race itself is 99% a myth that has no grounding in genetics and was invented for the sole reason of marginalizing people of color?
But welfare fraud? That's an actual crime that causes actual damage to society. You're stealing taxpayer money. That's a real scandal.
The objections I saw on the left mostly came from African-Americans, and one of the points was that Dolezal, at any time she wanted to, could simply abandon the (for lack of a better term) "mask" she had put on and go back to being white, and all that entails in regards to how everyday society functions. They viewed it as a mockery, akin to a minstrel show. Point being, if things ever REALLY got tough for her in regards to discrimination, she always had the option to revert back to being white, something no actual African-American could do. Many felt she had reduced the very real issues of dealing with being black in America to essentially playing dress-up everyday of her life. And again, at the time, I saw this argument coming almost exclusively coming from African-Americans, which tells me there is something to this line of thought that those of us who aren't black probably can't see as clearly.
But this is generally a low-hanging fruit topic in general, as she's not really worthy of the discussion. Anyone who has seen any portion of the Netflix documentary about her can easily conclude that this woman has some serious mental issues, if not outright delusions.
Race is real and has been genetically proven... We are all originally African.
But seriously, whenever we create words that divide, they serve no useful purpose. Before the 17th century, race simply referred to language and nationality, but the current dictionary definition which refers to looks and skin colour is not useful. Personally, I don't think it's helpful to identify with any race, better to say race is irrelevant and to actively support anyone being discriminated against for any reason.
For what it's worth, Dolezal could have returned to a likely easier life as a white woman. Yet she chose not to.
As far as race goes, it is true that DNA testing has found some visible differences between races. But the difference is in allele frequencies rather than distinct traits or unique genes, and the pattern don't follow our standard categories: we tend to treat African as a single unit, but there's a lot of genetic variation there, and while we distinguish between European and Middle Eastern, there's a lot of similarities. There's variation to be sure, but race as we normally discuss it doesn't fit in with modern research.
We all have a common ancestor derived from somewhere in Africa, but it's a bit misleading to call everyone African. If you're never been to the continent and even your ancestors haven't touched the soil for thousands of year, "African" probably isn't the right word to describe you. I'd reserve the term for people who were born or raised there.
I make a distinction between race as a biological category (which I place no stock in) and nationality as an individual's place of birth and the country where they grew up. I wouldn't define Dolezal as white or black (or rather, I wouldn't place any value in the terms), but I would define her as American rather than African.
Comments
At any rate, I believe his point was that this posthumous pardon for a guy that's been dead for a long time is nice but it doesn't do anything for black people TODAY who are subject to discrimination and things of that nature.
Such as people calling police for barbecuing while black, sleeping at Yale while black, or waiting for a friend at Starbucks while black. Because that is what is happening in 2018 in America.
This may seem harmless, mean, ignorant or stupid but it actually is not harmless. Black people have been shot for less than barbecuing by police. In fact police violence and abuse towards black people was the whole reason Colin Kaepernick took a knee on the NFL football field. On the same day he pardoned Johnson, Trump said people who kneel should be deported.
So no President Trump doesn't care about black people. (reference to Kanye...)
On another note, did beamdog fix, what had to be fixed, so that your Soundset mods work for BG EE and in SoD?
He made some efforts to get police training and things of that nature to make them less trigger happy. Not enough and we're going backwards these days as the focus is solely on Cops safety - which can be seen by some as a blank check or "I'm above the law" unfortunately.
I'd discuss the mod issues in the mod thread, but as far as I know there still hasn't been a patch for BGEE so no it's still not working there.
Sorry for asking about your mod in this thread. Didn't know it's a forum faux pas.
Jizya-ish? I don't know what that means. But yes he did repay Iran the money that we seized from them before, so he returned their money. Not sure what that has to do with law and order and police brutality of minorities.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-sent-two-more-planeloads-of-cash-to-iran-after-initial-payment-1473208256
Just incase the link asks for signin.....
The Obama administration briefed lawmakers on Tuesday, telling them that two further portions of the $1.3 billion were transferred though Europe on Jan. 22 and Feb. 5. The payment “flowed in the same manner” as the original $400 million that an Iranian cargo plane picked up in Geneva, Switzerland, according to a congressional aide who took part in the briefing.
The $400 million was converted into non-U.S. currencies by the Swiss and Dutch central banks, according to U.S. and European officials.
The Treasury Department confirmed late Tuesday that the subsequent payments were also made in cash.
“The form of those principal and interest payments—made in non-U.S. currency, in cash—was necessitated by the effectiveness of U.S. and international sanctions regimes over the last several years in isolating Iran from the international financial system,” Treasury spokeswoman Dawn Selak said.
Administration officials from Treasury, State and Justice convened the congressional briefing on Tuesday morning in the basement of the Capitol building in Washington. Staff from the House committees on Foreign Affairs, Financial Services, Armed Services and Appropriations were among those who also attended, according to congressional aides.
The Obama administration previously had refused to disclose the mechanics of the $1.7 billion settlement, despite repeated calls from U.S. lawmakers. The State Department announced the settlement on Jan. 17 but didn’t brief Congress that the entire amount had been paid in cash.
U.S. lawmakers have voiced concern that Iran’s military units, particularly the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, would use the cash to finance military allies in the Middle East, including the Assad regime in Syria, Houthi militias in Yemen, and the Lebanese militia, Hezbollah.
Sanctions impair Tehran’s ability to receive payments using the international banking system.
The settlement resulted from a legal arbitration under way in the Netherlands since the early 1980s between the U.S. and Iran. At issue was a $400 million payment Tehran’s last monarch, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, made to a Pentagon trust fund just months before his government was toppled. The money was earmarked for airplane parts that were never delivered.
Obama administration officials have said they believed the U.S. was set to lose the court proceedings in The Hague and would end up being liable for as much as $10 billion because of accrued interest. Republican lawmakers have argued the initial $400 million shouldn’t be repaid to Iran and instead should have been used to compensate the victims of Iranian-backed terrorism.
The bill introduced by congressional Republicans on Tuesday would block the Treasury Department from making any payments to Iran until Tehran returns the $1.7 billion to the U.S. and pays the American terrorism victims. Three dual U.S.-Iranian citizens are still being held in Iran.
“The U.S. government should not be in the business of negotiating with terrorists and paying ransom money in exchange for the release of American hostages,” Mr. Rubio said.
However on the other hand as I mentioned the USA themselves did mess a lot with Iran. The Iran Air Flight 655 had everything of a terrorist attack. A reckless captain moves the ship within Iran territorial water (a fact the US administration denied for years before finally acknowledging it) because well, you know, shitty GPS and then shot down a passenger plane because well... you know on these terrible state of the art AEGIS systems these look like F-14... feels like heckle & jeckle managed this if you read the official story.
Captain was decorated and made a hero, killing nearly 300 innocent people is worthy of praise I assume.
PS: the USA are not the only ones here playing at shooting down planes, at least they claimed it was an accident as dubious as it seems. The Soviet Union shot two, acknowleding it did on purpose. Israel shot one, acknowledging it did on purpose AND violating in the process the airspace of a neighbouring country (Egypt), Russian insurgent in Ukraine shot one (apparently confused with a cargo plane).
It's not the governments of the world that are at fault, it's the peoples of the world who are to blame. As soon as we realize that we ALL share the blame the faster we throw these tyrants out and get real change.
If we don't buy into their divisive ideologies, there is no hate. No hate, no WAR.
Obama didn't send money to Iran because he's a nice guy, It was a divisive move. Trump didn't say that the U.S. would put their embassy in Jerusalem because he cares about Jews, It was a divisive move. The IDF does not kill palestinians because they are scared of them jumping a fence, It's a divisive move.
The day we all stop buying into the elites shenanigans is the day they kneel down to us and real peace will be made within all of man kind.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/26/us/politics/migrant-children-missing.html
Which relates to the fact that when migrants are caught crossing the border illegally, we are DELIBERATELY and in some cases, PERMANENTLY (because of the situation mentioned in the previous article) separating them from their children. For crossing an imaginary line in the sand, we are destroying families, and doing so on purpose:
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Immigrant-families-separated-at-border-struggle-12938759.php#photo-14738340
Again, we are removing these children from their parents, and then we are LOSING thousands of them.
This problem has been going on for a lot longer than Trump has been in office--it isn't only his Administration which has failed in that regard. The problem is that these people are trying to enter the United States *illegally*. If you tried to sneak into a foreign country and get caught, should they deal with you according to their laws or are they supposed to play-hit you on the arm and say "tag, you're it"?
Some of the people who come here have contracted their entry with coyotes, who are more than willing to accept non-monetary forms of payment such as a child or teenager; these are the ones who definitely wind up being trafficked. There was another trailer found recently but at least it wasn't August here so only 2 people needed hospitalization.
On the other hand, some poor woman got shot and killed in Rio Bravo (yes, that is an actual town and not just a movie) by CBP agents claiming "self-defense" after she threw "blunt objects" at them. In other CBP news, CNN only yesterday had a story reminding everyone that CBP has increased powers of surveillance and arrest/detainment within 100 miles of the border; that area of the nation contains two-thirds of our entire population and many of the most-populous cities.
*************
In other other news, Harvey Weinstein went back to New York City to turn himself in.
Morgan Freeman has apologized in response to sexual harassment accusations.
I would assume this is the woman you are referring to being shot (the article will have be translated if one wants to read it):
https://www.publinews.gt/gt/noticias/2018/05/24/joven-guatemalteca-muere-baleada-oficial-la-patrulla-fronteriza-estados-unidos.html
It'd be best when there is open border movement between US, Mex and Canada. Then we can all sing kumbaya around the campfire. Will that day ever happen? Not in the forseeable future with guys like Trump or McConnell or Republican X,Y,Z in office no and not without changes on the other side too.
Yes, that's her. Democracy Now did not name her, only mentioning the story in brief. That is DN's greatest weakness--it gives a bunch of story blurbs but doesn't really go into detail on most topics. I understood most of the article without needing translation, though--I still retain enough literacy in Spanish for that even though I can't really speak it like I used to.
************* For reference, Ms. Dolezal was the woman who used to be President of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP and had been presenting herself as a black woman for years until it was discovered that, ethnically, she was not black. At the time, this caused a controversy because some people who accepted that gender could be self-defined concluded that ethnicity could *not* be self-defined.
But welfare fraud? That's an actual crime that causes actual damage to society. You're stealing taxpayer money. That's a real scandal.
But this is generally a low-hanging fruit topic in general, as she's not really worthy of the discussion. Anyone who has seen any portion of the Netflix documentary about her can easily conclude that this woman has some serious mental issues, if not outright delusions.
But seriously, whenever we create words that divide, they serve no useful purpose. Before the 17th century, race simply referred to language and nationality, but the current dictionary definition which refers to looks and skin colour is not useful. Personally, I don't think it's helpful to identify with any race, better to say race is irrelevant and to actively support anyone being discriminated against for any reason.
As far as race goes, it is true that DNA testing has found some visible differences between races. But the difference is in allele frequencies rather than distinct traits or unique genes, and the pattern don't follow our standard categories: we tend to treat African as a single unit, but there's a lot of genetic variation there, and while we distinguish between European and Middle Eastern, there's a lot of similarities. There's variation to be sure, but race as we normally discuss it doesn't fit in with modern research.
We all have a common ancestor derived from somewhere in Africa, but it's a bit misleading to call everyone African. If you're never been to the continent and even your ancestors haven't touched the soil for thousands of year, "African" probably isn't the right word to describe you. I'd reserve the term for people who were born or raised there.
I make a distinction between race as a biological category (which I place no stock in) and nationality as an individual's place of birth and the country where they grew up. I wouldn't define Dolezal as white or black (or rather, I wouldn't place any value in the terms), but I would define her as American rather than African.