This and That...

[Warph]

Obuma: I'll Inform The Folks In America After Iran Deal Is Made – Period

(Perhaps an attempt by Obama to unilaterally bind the U.S. to Iran, unlawfully, would finally rise to the level of "high crimes and misdemeanors" sufficient to justify impeachment, under the Constitution.

[Article II, Section 4, establishes, "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors."].

A most drastic step, which will probably never happen.... Bibi, its your turn... bring it on)


Via Weekly Standard
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-ill-make-case-american-people-after-iran-deal-made_881000.html

President Obama will wait until after a nuclear deal with Iran is made to make the case to the American people that it's the right thing to do. He made the comment today after being asked about this letter from nearly 50 U.S. senators to Iran, which stated, "The next president could revoke such an executive agreement with the stroke of a pen and future Congresses could modify the terms of the agreement at any time."

A member of the press asked Obama, "Can you comment on the Republican letter to Iran? Can you comment on that?"

"I think it's somewhat ironic to see some members of Congress wanting to make common cause with the hardliners in Iran. It's an unusual coalition," Obama told the reporter.

"I think what we're going to focus on right now is actually seeing whether we can get a deal or not. And once we do — if we do — then we'll be able to make the case to the American people, and I'm confident we'll be able to implement it."

[Warph]

Feminists Outraged Over Facebook's "Feeling Fat" Emoticon

(Getting off of facebook would be a start.  Well, I searched for a feminist smiley and this is all I found...
)

Via Change.Org (Click at your own risk...)

https://www.change.org/p/facebook-remove-the-feeling-fat-emoticon-fatisnotafeeling

VIDEO:

Scrolling through Facebook the other day, I saw a friend's status set to "feeling fat," accompanied by an emoji with chubby cheeks and a double chin. I think it was supposed to be funny, but seeing this status made me feel angry.

As someone who has struggled with and overcome disordered eating, I know what it's like to "feel" fat. I have spent years of my life consumed with negative thoughts about my body, and far too many days starving myself in an effort to lose weight. But even worse than the skipped meals and the hours spent obsessing in front of the mirror was the fear of what others thought about me and my body.[...]

Fat is not a feeling. Fat is a natural part of our bodies, no matter their weight. And all bodies deserve to be respected and cared for.

[Warph]

A New Way To Be Human: The Plan Is To Replace Existing Humans With 'Transhuman' Hybrids

By Michael Snyder, on March 10th, 2015

Transhumanists believe that the time has come for humans to take control of their own evolution.  Many of them are fully convinced that we can use emerging technologies to "fix" the flaws in the human race and ultimately eradicate sickness, disease, poverty and war.  So would you like to have the eyesight of an eagle?  Would you like to download an entire library of information directly into your brain in just minutes?  Would you like to rid your family line of all genetic diseases?  Would you like to extend your lifespan to 500 years or even longer?  Transhumanists promise that all of these things will soon be possible, if we are willing to embrace a new way of doing things.  They foresee a future in which we will all have lots of little nanobots running around inside of us, in which we are all connected directly to the Internet, and in which we have all been genetically modified to at least some degree.  In fact, one prominent transhumanist recently stated that he believes that "eventually every human will be designed on a computer".  In the end, the goal is to produce a vastly improved version of the human race which will usher in a golden new age for the planet.  But as we merge ourselves with animals, machines and weird new technologies that scientists cook up, at what point do we cease to be human?

And when I say "weird new technologies", I am not overstating things in the least.  Just consider what one transhumanist says that they have planned for us...

As with all radical social movements, there is bound to be resistance. After all, transhumanists are interested in some pretty bizarre things: mind uploading, living indefinitely through life extension science, biohacking themselves to install cyborg body parts, and creating artificial general intelligence. Each of these areas of research will radically change the lives of people—and some, such as cyborg body parts, are already doing so.

Once upon a time, the only people that talked about "cyborgs" were science fiction geeks.

But today, many transhumanists speak of us becoming "cyborgs" as if it was some sort of foregone conclusion.  It is almost as if they are the Borg, and they are telling us that there is no choice but to assimilate.

And this assimilation is already happening to a certain degree.  If the idea of humanity "merging with machines" sounds bizarre to you, just check out the following excerpt from a recent Vice article...


Next up are brain implants, tiny computer chips inserted surgically directly into the brain itself. So far, they've been used mainly to help treat patients suffering from Parkinson's disease and other neurological conditions such as Alzheimer's and epilepsy.

But some scientists are now tinkering with brain implants that enable more physical pursuits, from controlling people's prosthetic limbs to ​restoring movement in paralyzed rats. Scientists say that the capabilities of brain implants are only in their infancy, and some of them envision a near-future where brain implants can even be installed in healthy people to connect them directly to the internet and improve memory] a la Black Mirror. The US military agency DARPA is already building such memory chips, and wants to develop implants that could be installed throughout a soldier's nervous system to provide advanced, on-the-spot healing of conditions from mental illness to arthritis.

Of course most of those developing these new technologies believe that they are doing something wonderful for humanity.

And in many cases they are.

But at what point do we enter a danger zone?

In a previous article , I noted that one recent survey discovered that approximately one-fourth of all professionals in the 18 to 50-year-old age bracket would like to connect their brains directly to the Internet.

I don't know about you, but that is something that I will never be doing.

Meanwhile, scientists continue to push the envelope when it comes to merging humans with animals.

Most people don't realize this, but today we are creating genetically modified cattle with human DNA, we are growing human kidneys in rats, and we are experimenting on human-mouse hybrids with freakishly large brains.

Once again, those involved in this kind of research believe that they are finding "cures for diseases" or that they are working to make life better for all of us somehow.

But when we combine animals and humans, what exactly are we creating?

Are they animals?

Are they humans?

And where do we draw the line?  Will we someday have creatures that are 50 percent human and 50 percent animal walking around our cities?

For much, much more on this, please see my previous article entitled "The Era Of Chimeras: Scientists Fearlessly Create Bizarre Human/Animal Hybrids".

Another area that transhumanists are extremely excited about is the ability to use technology to genetically edit our children.

At Harvard, researchers now believe that it will soon be possible to completely remove genetic diseases from our family lines...

As I listened to Yang, I waited for a chance to ask my real questions: Can any of this be done to human beings? Can we improve the human gene pool? The position of much of mainstream science has been that such meddling would be unsafe, irresponsible, and even impossible. But Yang didn't hesitate. Yes, of course, she said. In fact, the Harvard laboratory had a project to determine how it could be achieved. She flipped open her laptop to a PowerPoint slide titled "Germline Editing Meeting."

Here it was: a technical proposal to alter human heredity...

"Germ line" is biologists' jargon for the egg and sperm, which combine to form an embryo. By editing the DNA of these cells or the embryo itself, it could be possible to correct disease genes and to pass those genetic fixes on to future generations. Such a technology could be used to rid families of scourges like cystic fibrosis. It might also be possible to install genes that offer lifelong protection against infection, Alzheimer's, and, Yang told me, maybe the effects of aging.

And "maybe the effects of aging"?

Life extension technologies are something that many transhumanists are particularly obsessed with.

For example, Bloomberg recently did an interview with one technology executive that believes that it will eventually be possible for all of us to live to the ripe old age of 500...

"If you ask me today, is it possible to live to be 500? The answer is yes," Bill Maris says one January afternoon in Mountain View, California. The president and managing partner of Google Ventures just turned 40, but he looks more like a 19-year-old college kid at midterm. He's wearing sneakers and a gray denim shirt over a T-shirt; it looks like he hasn't shaved in a few days.

Maris is using his position to pour millions upon millions of dollars into companies that are developing radical life extension technologies that they hope will enable people to live for hundreds of years. 

Maris just hopes that he can stay alive long enough to take advantage of them...

"We actually have the tools in the life sciences to achieve anything that you have the audacity to envision," he says. "I just hope to live long enough not to die."

And of course Maris is far from alone.  The most famous transhumanist on the entire planet, Ray Kurzweil, is absolutely obsessed with immortality.  He takes 150 vitamin supplements a day in a desperate attempt to extend his life until more advanced life extension technologies can be developed. 

In chapter 7 of "The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology", he expressed his thoughts on where the future is taking all of us...


"Evolution moves toward greater complexity, greater elegance, greater knowledge, greater intelligence, greater beauty, greater creativity, and greater levels of subtle attributes such as love. In every monotheistic tradition God is likewise described as all of these qualities, only without any limitation: infinite knowledge, infinite intelligence, infinite beauty, infinite creativity, infinite love, and so on. Of course, even the accelerating growth of evolution never achieves an infinite level, but as it explodes exponentially it certainly moves rapidly in that direction. So evolution moves inexorably toward this conception of God, although never quite reaching this ideal. We can regard, therefore, the freeing of our thinking from the severe limitations of its biological form to be an essentially spiritual undertaking."

But what about those of us that do not want to be a part of this future?

Is there any room for people that do not want to be genetically modified and that do not want to merge with animals and technology?

Some transhumanists believe that those that do not adapt will eventually be wiped out because they simply will not be able to survive in the new world that is emerging.

Other transhumanists believe that in order to truly have a world where there is no sickness, disease, poverty and war, all of the "inferior" humans will ultimately have to be "removed".

But what almost all of them agree on is the fact that the future belongs to them and not to us.

So what do you think?  Is humanity on the verge of a great leap forward, or are these new technologies actually opening up a door for great darkness?

(Thus, I pray, I won't lose too much sleep over this... I have bigger problems...  )

[Warph]

While Obuma Guts The U.S. Military, Russia Prepares For War

By Michael Snyder, on March 4th, 2015

The Russian military and the U.S. military are going in two very different directions.  Military spending in Russia is increasing by a whopping 33 percent this year alone, and the Russians are feverishly preparing as if a major war with the United States is inevitable.  But despite the fact that the conflict in Ukraine has raised tensions with Russia to Cold War levels, the Obama administration is still acting as if we were living in a "post-Cold War" era.  Even while the Russians are arming themselves to the teeth, the U.S. military is being gutted.  In fact, the U.S. Army is in the process of being cut down to the smallest size that we have seen since the end of World War II, and the U.S. Navy is already the smallest that it has been since World War I.  There is very little political debate about this gutting of our military at the moment, but someday we may look back and bitterly regret not being more prepared.

No matter what your view of U.S. foreign policy is, we should all be able to agree that the U.S. Constitution mandates that it is the job of the federal government to protect this nation.  Sadly, according to one recent report the cutbacks that are happening right now have left the U.S. military only "marginally able" to defend this country...

The US military has become so depleted by cuts that it has been left only 'marginally able' to defend the nation.

Decreases in the number of soldiers and naval ships have led to armed forces falling short of President Obama's national security strategy, a report by The Heritage Foundation claimed.

Yes, we are spending far more on our military than anyone else on the planet is.  But a tremendous amount of that is pure waste.

When it comes to the things that really matter for national defense, corners are being cut.  For example, as I mentioned above, the U.S. Army is in the process of being reduced to the smallest size that it has been since World War II...

The Quadrennial Defense Review announced last year that the Army would be cut from 570,000 soldiers to 440,000 – the fewest since World War II.

The Army historically commits 21 brigade combat teams to one war but would struggle to do this and leave reserves if there were two simultaneous conflicts, the report said.

And according to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Navy is already the smallest that is has been since World War I...

With the U.S. Navy arguably at its smallest since 1917, we don't have many ships that are actually at sea. Only 35% of the Navy's entire fleet is deployed, fewer than 100 ships.

But that is not all.  According to Stars and Stripes, the size of the U.S. Air Force is going to shrink by about 500 planes over the next five years...

The Air Force plans to cut nearly 500 planes from its inventory over the next five years if the Defense Department's Fiscal 2015 budget request is approved by Congress, the service announced Monday.

The reductions — which would affect the active duty, Guard and Reserve — would be implemented in 25 states and the District of Columbia, according to a diagram provided by the Air Force. Only 47 planes would be eliminated overseas at a time when officials are emphasizing the importance of maintaining a strong forward presence to deter adversaries and respond quickly to crises.

For much more on how the U.S. military is being gutted, please see my previous article entitled "The Incredible Shrinking U.S. Military".

At the same time all of this is going on, Russia is acting as if they knew that World War III was right around the corner.

According to CNN, the Russians plan to spend more than 20 trillion rubles to modernize their military by the year 2025...

Russia has begun investing heavily in upgrades to its military capabilities. President Vladimir Putin plans to spend more than 20 trillion rubles ($700 billion) bringing equipment up to date by 2025.

The modernization program is continuing despite an economic crisis that has already forced Russia to adopt an austerity budget for next year.

Even while the U.S. military is shrinking, the Russian military is getting larger.  The following infographic was published by TASS, and it shows some of the new equipment that the Russian military will be receiving by the end of this year...

In addition, the Moscow Times is reporting that the Russian navy will be getting 50 new vessels in 2015.

So why are the Russians conducting such a massive military buildup?

Certainly the civil war in Ukraine is on their minds.  If there was a civil war up in Canada, the U.S. government would definitely be freaking out.  So it is understandable that the Russians are deeply concerned about what is happening to their neighbor.

But this military buildup by the Russians suggests that there is something more going on.

And I think that we can get a clue by looking at how the Russian military has been behaving.

For instance, the Russian air force recently conducted a drill which simulated an attack on NATO warships in the Black Sea...

Russian fighter jets are practicing attacking NATO ships in the Black Sea in another dramatic sign that tensions over Ukraine continue to build despite a fragile ceasefire agreed last month.

"Russia's newest Su-30 fighter jets and Su-24 attack bombers are using two NATO ships in the Black Sea to practice penetrating anti-air systems," reports Sputnik, citing a source at the Sevastopol naval base.

Asserting that the NATO ships are conducting drills based around "repelling air attacks," Moscow is taking the opportunity to practice "maneuvering and conducting aerial reconnaissance" outside the range of the ships in order to "practice attack scenarios".

In addition, Russian strategic bombers have been making increasingly aggressive movements in recent months.  The following is from an article that described an incident in which two Tu-95 bombers buzzed Norwegian airspace...

But on January 28 two more Tu-95 bombers, escorted by tankers and Russia's most advanced MiG-31 fighter jets, showed up off the coast. One of them was carrying "a nuclear payload," according to the London Sunday Express, which cited intercepted radio traffic. And last fall, a Russian Tu-22 supersonic bomber skirting Norway's northern airspace was photographed carrying a cruise missile in launching position, according to the Barents Observer blog. Similar examples abound.

Adding to the potential for an unintended catastrophe, Russian warplanes typically lift off without filing a flight plan and cruise the busy commercial flight lanes with their transponders off, riling airline and NATO pilots alike. In recent months Russian warplanes have been engaging in Top Gun–style stunts far from home, popping up unannounced aside an SAS airliner on a flight between Copenhagen, Denmark, and Oslo and buzzing a Norwegian F-16 pilot.

And in the Pacific, two Tu-95 bombers recently buzzed Guam...

Russian strategic bombers conducted a third circumnavigation of the U.S. Pacific island of Guam last week as other bombers flew close to Alaska and Europe, defense officials said.

Two Tu-95 Bear H bombers made the flight around Guam, a key U.S. military hub in the western Pacific, on Dec. 13. No U.S. interceptor jets were dispatched to shadow the bombers.

One of the reasons this is done is to test our defenses.

They want to see how we would respond if it was the real thing.

In a future war with Russia, the key to winning will probably be to strike first.  The Russians know this, and so they are putting a special emphasis on modernizing their strategic nuclear forces...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on December 19 that the Russian strategic nuclear forces will receive more than 50 ICBMs in 2015. Putin also reaffirmed plans to modernize the fleet of Russian strategic bombers and nuclear-powered submarines.

According to the new Russian military doctrine signed by Putin Friday, Moscow reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in response to the use of nuclear weapons or any other types of weapons of mass destruction against Russia or its allies, as well as in the case of an attack with conventional weaponry that threatens the very existence of the state.

It is being reported that Russian Strategic Missile Forces are planning to conduct more than 100 drills in 2015.  Meanwhile, the Obama administration is treating the U.S. strategic nuclear arsenal as if it was an unwanted leftover from an era that is long gone.

I have written much more about this in the past, and I will not repeat all of it here.  If you would like to dig even deeper into all of this, please see my previous article entitled "10 Signs That Russia Is Preparing To Fight (And Win) A Nuclear War With The United States". http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/10-signs-that-russia-is-preparing-to-fight-and-win-a-nuclear-war-with-the-united-states

To most Americans, a war with Russia is not even a remote possibility.

But there is a much, much different mindset inside Russia these days.

During one recent military parade, a large missile was paraded through the streets with a message to Barack Obama written on the side.  Roughly translated, the message says "to be personally delivered to Obama"...

Russian Nuclear Missile To Be Personally Delivered To Obama


The Russians are preparing for war.

The United States is not.

So who is right and who is wrong?

[Warph]

White House Goes To Condition Squirrel Level 4, Obutthead To Hit The Late-Night Talk Show Circuit

(What crisis is he avoiding and what is the message for the low information crowd? ...)

Via The Hill
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/235269-obama-to-appear-on-kimmel-show

President Obama is returning to the late-night talk show circuit this week with an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

The president is flying to Los Angeles on Thursday, where he'll appear on Kimmel's ABC show and attend a Democratic National Committee event, according to the White House.

The Hollywood Reporter first reported Obama's Kimmel appearance. The last time Obama went on a late-night comedy program was last December, when he was featured on one of Stephen Colbert's final Comedy Central shows.

Obama appeared on Kimmel's show via satellite in 2008, during his first presidential campaign. Kimmel also hosted the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in 2012.

Actor Sean Penn will be Kimmel's other guest on Thursday's show.

[Warph]

Breaking:  Report: IT Tech Tracked Hillary Server To Manhattan...Hillary Has Office (Campaign?) In Manhattan

So if this is true, it means Hillary lied again, when she implied it was under Secret Service protection at her house.

Bill Clinton does have an office in Manhattan. But Hillary also has an office in Manhattan, potentially a campaign office, with at least a 12 member staff near Times Square.

Hillary Clinton reportedly has signed a two-year lease in a high-rise commercial building in midtown Manhattan, fueling growing rumors of a 2016 presidential run.

Citing anonymous sources, HollywoodLife.com reported Tuesday that Clinton signed the lease on a property which will eventually be used as her campaign headquarters. However, Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill, told MSNBC the property is the new site for her personal office, not a campaign headquarters.

Clinton, who currently has a 12-member staff, moved into the new digs last week. The office space will comfortably fit 25 people, the entertainment site claims.

The leased property reportedly includes 14 workstations, one large conference room and features like floor-to-ceiling glass doors and windows with views of Times Square.

[Warph]

Chutzpah! Video Of Hillary: "The Server Will Remain Private" Because I Say So

VIDEO: 

The attitude on this video is just astonishing. She was shaking her head so much in response to the question about deleting emails, I thought her head was going to spin completely around. Of course, she then admitted she had done just that to about half of her emails. Of course, only the "private" ones...

She claimed all the server has on it now is her private emails with her husband. So the "server will remain private".

Of course, Bill's spokesman just said he doesn't send email, that he's only sent two in his life, while he was president.

Strangely timed statement one would think on Bill's part. Did he mean to undermine her story?

Also notice how she isn't looking you in the eye mostly as she talks.

I suspect Trey Gowdy will have something to Hillary by way of a subpoena for the server.

[Warph]

GAO Report: It Takes At Least 170 Days To Fire A Government Employee

(Holy crap... so what else is new...)

Via WFB
http://freebeacon.com/issues/report-it-takes-at-least-170-days-to-fire-a-government-employee/

A minimum of 170 days is required to fire a federal employee for poor performance, if a government agency properly follows the required dismissal process.

The government firing process is so lengthy that departments often keep bad employees to avoid it, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

"The time and resource commitment needed to remove a poor performing permanent employee can be substantial," the GAO said. "It can take six months to a year (and sometimes longer) to dismiss an employee."

In order to fire a government worker federal managers can consult a 12-step flow chart, which the GAO provided in the report released Monday. The report examined the "long-standing personnel issue" of the government's inability to fire bad employees.

Federal agencies have two procedural options when faced with firing a poor worker: chapters 43 and 75 of title 5 of the United States Code, and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) implementing regulations.

Chapter 43 takes between 170 to 370 days to complete, and includes "counseling sessions" for the worker. The employee also gets a chance to improve their performance, which can last up to 110 days.

Throughout the process the government agency must consult with the Human Resources department and their General Counsel before the worker is informed of their dismissal and their "grievance rights."

After dismissal, the employee is then given the opportunity to appeal, which itself takes an average of 243 days to complete.

Alternatively, agencies can use chapter 75, which is "largely similar to chapter 43." Chapter 75 is generally faster since it does not require time to allow the employee to improve, but the "burden of proof for sustaining a dismissal" is higher.

Agencies are able to avoid both processes by firing poor performers during their first year on the job, or by declining to dismiss a bad employee.

[...]

The government fired just 3,489 employees for performance in 2013, representing 0.18 percent of all federal workers. Seventy percent of these dismissals occurred during the initial probationary period, 21 percent through chapter 75, and 8 percent through chapter 43.

[Warph]

Florida Gator out for a Day of Golf

Beautiful day for golf

Thanks for letting me play through, fellows

Get the hell out of my way, Melvin!

Damn sand Trap... Clean it up, Roger

Okay, where's my ball?

Ah, there it is... great shot!  Am I good or what!!

Let see now, that's about a two-footer

I told Melvin to get the hell out of the way but he wouldn't listen...
TIME FOR LUNCH!!!

[YAWN].... Nap time!

[Warph]

Groan.... Rand Paul Says He Signed Iran Letter To "Strengthen Obuma's Hand"

(Groveling to the Paulbot Libertarian base, whose foreign policy views are basically the same as Code Pink)

Via Reason:
http://reason.com/blog/2015/03/11/rand-paul-iran-letter-was-meant-to-stren

VIDEO:

In an interview with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on the Todayshow this morning, Matt Lauer skipped over the motivation for Senate Republicans' open letter to Iran and asked Paul instead whether if he were president he would want a group of senators "undermining" his delicate negotiations.

Paul rejected the premise, claiming he signed the letter because he wanted to "strengthen the president's hand" by reminding Iran of the U.S.'s own hardliners. Paul also reiterated that sanctions on Iran would have to be lifted by Congress.