It's About Time : New York Times, CNN, BBC among media outlets barred

New York Times, CNN, BBC among media outlets barred from White House briefing

 

Journalists from the New York Times, CNN, the BBC and other media outlets say they were denied entry to a White House press briefing Friday.
Other outlets affected included the Los Angeles Times, Politico and BuzzFeed News.
The reporters were barred from the briefing in the office of White House press secretary Sean Spicer.

 ---- --- ----

It's about time. 

Once upon a time a long time ago there were these news papers , small organizations, that reported a little news, caught a few politicians and movers and shakers doing nasty things, and it was decided, half by them , and half by the other politico's , that they would become part of the "democratic process". A foundation of democracy. 

But things changed, and the news papers grew into massive chains of news papers that controlled the news in half the nation. They became the very movers and shakers they were supposed to be watching. They bought and sold politicians, they openly supported one particular political party over another, they made no beef as to which corperations (albeit , newspaper corperations) were their friends, and which were their enemies. They "decided" when news stories would run  , and when it was time to stop (the princess diannia assassination story, the newsies mutually agreed they'd had enough of the public blaming them ) . 

They no longer are a "pillar of democracy" as they like to call themselves. And it's about time this was recognized. 

Someone needs to send them back to where they started. They need to be broken up into smaller papers again , and a size limitation imposed on them. Say , a million subscribers and no more, kind of thing. 

They have lost their way, and their job is too important to go undone. 

and that's my two cents.

Alternate Hell Dimension

I swear , we must have slipped into some kind of alternate hell dimension somewhere ... and we need to get back home. But I can't tell which home is which ?

Google adds voice-activated shopping, taking on Amazon

Article

Google announced Thursday it was launching voice-activated shopping from its artificial intelligence-powered Home speaker, in a direct challenge to Amazon's Alexa devices.
Users can simply tell the speaker to order items -- diapers, paper towels, or trash bags, for example, and get delivery from any of dozens of participating retailers.
"If picking up paper towels or stocking up on coffee is on your list, consider it done," said Google Assistant product manager David Wang in a statement.

Allow me to educate you as to the five scariest words your child could learn if you have Google voice activated shopping. 

"Google, buy me an iPhone"
 

RCMP bracing for more border crossers amid community concerns

 Emerson resident Tim Hoffman says he does not pay much attention to "the commotion" of asylum seekers crossing the border into his town.  

But he wants it to stop.
Looking at refugee claimants making the dangerous journey, through snow drifts and frigid temperatures, Hoffman says he would actually like to see stricter vetting of the potential refugees — perhaps in the same vein of U.S. President Donald Trump's measures on refugees and immigration south of the border.

 --- --- ---

 

 America is a land of easy access to guns.

First immigrant to cross the border and shoot someone , that border is going to slam shut, guarenteed. 

First immigrant to be caught smuggling guns or drugs, same thing. 

Temporary phenomenon at best. 

 

How to make NAFTA Horrible

How to Make NAFTA Great Again


Mexico enjoys a trade surplus through NAFTA and exports significantly more goods and services to the U.S. than it receives. That must change says Trump.
But the opposite is true for Canada.
In 2015, with two-way trade between Canada and the U.S. valued at $662 billion, the U.S. had a healthy trade surplus of more than $6 billion.
Almost two million American jobs are supported by exports to Canada.


 ==== ==== ====

So , if some other nation has a surplus , that's bad for us. But if we have a surplus it's good ? 
And USA has a surplus from trading with us ? (I admit 6 billion out of 662 billion is like 1% , but still a surplus is a surplus)

And two million american jobs are "supported" by exports to canada, whatever the heck "supported" means. 

I know this article doesn't mean to say it , but it is stating that we'd be better off if NAFTA died. Since we're losing 6 billion a year to the united states, we'd be 6 billion dollars richer if it died, by his own figures. And 2 million "supported" jobs come to canada, which I have no idea translates into how many real actual jobs, but it sounds like a lot. 

It wasn't his intention to say "We'd be better off if NAFTA died" , but it is what his reasoning adds up to. 

I wonder if he realizes that. 

But Canada should not start the discussion with talk of greenhouse gas emissions, carbon taxes or climate change. This would not be helpful to our long-term relationship with the U.S., given the current administration.


And the only thing that matters, the land we live on still being here in the future, we shouldn't talk about that at all , oh noes !!!!!

Typical accountant logic. 

Run the numbers through a spread sheet, these are the results. Never mind that the results say we should let everyone on welfare starve to death and cancel national healthcare, because that just costs too much , and cancel old age pensions and let them all starve to death , these are the numbers ! 

This kind of nonsense just highlights the difference between intelligence (the ability to run numbers) and wisdom . And that difference is huge. 

Trump wishes to renegotiate NAFTA

So Trump wants to renegotiate NAFTA ?

Well, what is NAFTA anyways ?

NAFTA is a trade agreement. Basically , you can sell your products in another country. Ok , right ?
Wrong.  Business men look at the numbers. They will produce where the costs are lowest (like wages) and go there. They will play one nation off against another to drive down costs, like wages, and outlaw minimum wages , under threat of going elsewhere if you don't comply.

And if you do comply, usually it's a disaster for the hosting nation. Suddenly everyone's living in rooming houses, or there's four people in a two bedroom apartment because that's the only way you can afford the rent.

Add to this the up and coming 3D printers, where by manufacturing is going to come back to the western nations, in the form of robots making stuff, instead of human hands. In other words, no jobs for the common people, just a small handful of jobs for the technicians maintaining the machines.

NAFTA is a bunch of business men bribing the government (excuse me, making legitimate, perfectly legal political donations) to give them a good deal and crud over the rest of the population , and of course, any businesses too stupid to make similar bribes to the government. And our standard of living drops through the floor and into the sewer.

Add to this Mexico was added to NAFTA  , and that's a dollar a day country , and all the jobs that could be relocated to Mexico have been. Which means jobs for canadians suddenly became scarce, and only the low paying ones remained.

So . Trump wants to renegotiate NAFTA ?

I think we should take a hard line with Trump and get him to break NAFTA. This way we get out of it without paying any penalties.

I think NAFTA , and similar trade agreements, are an evil thing, and in the coming age of 3D printers , no one is going to be shipping any product across any borders. We're all going to wind up with a big work shelf full of several 3D printers in a closet somewhere , one for making stuff out of plastic one for metal  , one for electrical stuff (fans, clocks, etc ) one for computer stuff (cell phones, computer devices) . And we'll only buy the big stuff that lasts forever (a full blown computer that lasts for many years, furnature that lasts for 20 years, fridge stove etc) .

Manufacturing is already on life support, and soon it will vanish. Trade agreements are todays chimney sweeps. They are no longer needed.

The age of Uncle Owen's Farm (warning : Star wars reference) is soon to be upon us. We will maintain the machines , and the machines will do all the work. 

History Repeats Itself

WARNING - SARCASTIC POST AHEAD
/sarcasm on
How dare these black boys deny "The Great Klu Klux Klan", as Thomas Woodrow Wilson properly put it ? Don't they know Thomas Jefferson offered a solution to this problem by offering to send the blacks back to "barbaric" africa ? Except for his own slaves of course, that could hurt his business. Of course sending them back could be problematic since James Monroe actually conquered strips of Africa, liberating it from the blacks, and so calling it "Liberia" , so I guess we're not sending them back there.
And on the subject of "incidery publications" like that painting , we should follow Andrew Jacksons lead in 1835 completely prohibiting such thigns under severe penalties. Free speach is only for white folk ! Just like the right to bear arms !
In the words of the immortal Donald J Trump “Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys wearing yarmulkes… Those are the only kind of people I want counting my money. Nobody else…Besides that, I tell you something else. I think that’s guy’s lazy. And it’s probably not his fault because laziness is a trait in blacks,”
Truely , this guy is in touch with the common man.

/sarcasm off
yep. Those are real quotes from real presidents. USA presidents, even.

Trump and the TPP , a modern day parable

   Once upon a time a guy named Obama made a beautiful horse drawn wagon , full of luxury , but only for his business friends, not for the common people, and he called it TPP. And he extolled the virtues of his wagon , TPP, and how it would make business people like them rich , while not saying much at all about the poor people who would suddenly find that all the business men had left town and stopped employing them.
   But the business men couldn't agree on where to steer their wagon to. Oh they had their leaders, called Japan , and Canada, and Australia, who all wanted to go this way or that , who all spoke for big groups of businesses, but they all wanted to go in different directions.
   But , after a while, Obama decided he had family matters to deal with , and had spent way too long with these bickering business men , so he said "I have to go , but I'm going to leave a replacement here, to represent all the business men of my people. Keep up the good work !"
   And the new guy was named Trump.
   And Trump looked around at all these bickering business men and asked "How long have you been arguing about this ? Years and years ? " And so he climbed down off the wagon , which had been sitting there for years and years going no where, and he went up to the horse that was supposed to pull the wagon.
   And he shot the horse in the head, and walked away.
   Now the business men didn't like that. They said "It could still work ! We can still ride this wagon and it will be good for our businesses. "
   And the other business men looked at him and said "But the horse is dead. "
   "It can still deliver ! We just need to give it a little more time. Trust me ! Time will tell on this , you can count on it !"
   And they looked at him , and they looked at the dead horse.
   And they said "Yeah , we made all sorts of promises , didn't we ? We'd hate to be caught out failing to deliver. All right. We'll give the horse more time. "
   And so they stood around looking worried at the dead horse , as blood pooled under neath it, and told every one "It will be a little more difficult , but it's still possible. "
   And Trump looked back at them , from the top of a hill , and shook his head in disbelief. And kept on walking away.

Ferguson Protest Painting

They put it up , they take it down , they put it up , they take it down ...

Wow , these cops and politicians really get uptight when they get caught acting like highway bandits. You're not even allowed to call them out on it.

I'll just keep this copy in my blog, in case the USA news sites mysteriously misplace it.

They are watching you.

Man slapped with child pornography charges after search of Ottawa home

A 28-year-old man faces multiple child pornography charges after Ottawa police raided his home on Montreal Road Thursday.
In mid June and late August this year, Ottawa police received information that an IP address in the area uploaded images of child sexual abuse using a website called ChatStep.
It was determined the offending IP address was located in the 400 block of Montreal Road, near St. Laurent Boulevard, Ottawa police said in a media release.
Police executed a search warrant at a home on Thursday. Images of child sexual abuse were found on a computer, police said.


 -------- ------- --------

While I have little sypmathy for this guy, I can't help but notice that apparently , your activities on the internet are being watched. You are in public, just as if you were out walking down the street.

Worse, when you're walking down the street only a handful of people see and recognize you, or remember you were there. On the internet, they remember for ever, even years later they still have records. And they do anything they want with those records.

Since the "Robocall scandel " (machines phoning you up, asking who you're going to vote for, and sending you off to the wrong polling station where you're not allowed to vote, thus influencing an election ) I've always been interested in how such records could be used to figure out what political party you're likely to vote for, and then somehow , through law or deception , remove your right to vote.

It is of great concern that they are watching and recording our every activity, though I know many people who do not believe this.

Interesting.

 

 

 

RCMP terror investigation not over yet, Crown reveals at Ismael Habib trial

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/ismael-habib-day-10-1.3889648


Habib, who is charged with attempting to leave Canada to commit acts of terrorism and trying to obtain a passport by providing false information, is the first to be charged as a result of the investigation.

Much as I distrust American Police, this was a Canadian Police case...
And this joker put this particular selfie on his facebook page.

Much as I must point out I checked out his facebook page (just search on his name Ismael Habib ) and saw mostly family photo's and such ... I can't help but ask ..."Whoa...that rifle is totally illegal here in Canada. Where did you get it ? "



UPDATE :
It now turns out the guys "Confession" was derived from a "Mr. Big" police operation.

The problem being , if you're looking what you think is a violent criminal gangster in the eye , and he says "So you wanna go kill people ? I can help you with that. " That doesn't count as a confession, even the canadian supreme court agree's with that. The guy (presumably, if you don't know he's a cop) might kill you if you say the wrong thing, therefore anything you say to him cannot be considered a confession.

Which goes back to my original opinion. If you're standing up in court yelling "allah akbarr ! I refuse to recognize this court ! Islam is the only Law !" he's probably guilty. If he's saying "I never said that ! I never did that ! I deny everything ! " He's probably not.
Goes to the definition of "fanatic".
Non fanatics do not cross the ocean in order to die in a war on the other side of the planet. I am suddenly suspicious this guy might be innocent.

Exclusive law enforcement training video produced since Ferguson

http://thetelegraph.com/news/92996/exclusive-law-enforcement-training-video-produced-since-ferguson

ST. LOUIS — In the wake of the riots, police actions and responses connected to the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, In the Line of Duty – the world leader in law enforcement video and internet training – launched their newest online video training based on “best practices” learning from law enforcement leadership titled “Ferguson/The Lessons Learned.”


And what lessons could the police possibly learn from Ferguson Missouri ?
Hmmm... The mayor and the city council issued you orders, and you followed them. You acted like bandits , ripping off every black in sight , and you'd been at it so long you didn't even bother to hide it. When the Justice Department of the United states eventually investigated, years later, they found things like you issuing tickets because you figured someone was "walking funny" or you didn't like the way they were wearing their blue jeans.

Now what could the United States Badge Weilding Thugs possibly be putting into their training videos. What exactly is "Best Practices" for an organization obliged to act like bandits by their bosses and who has no way to change their bosses actions ?

I'm betting the "Lessons Learned" here are how to be a better bandit, and how to rip them off for more and more cash.

Someone needs to steal that video and put it on the web.

What next for Obama

Charlie Hedbo post (a french magazine)

The caption reads "Now Obama is an ordinary Citizen" more or less

Sad , but true unfortunately.

:(

Toronto Muslims worry Trump will deliver on 'problematic' promises

 Now that Donald Trump is president-elect of the United States, many Muslim Canadians are pondering what his election means for them and whether they're welcome in the country he will lead.

--- --- ---

 

Um, you're wondering if you will be able to leave canada and go to the USA ? 

 Goodbye, have a nice trip  , don't come back now ! 

 Do I care what you think if you're planning on leaving ? No, as a matter of fact I don't. 

 Stay here and help build this country , or get the heck out. I got no use for "Just Passing Through" Canadians. 

Sheesh, what a stupid news article. 

 

 

Donald Trump's stunning win is 'uncharted' political territory

 

 So why did an acknowledge sexual predetor and rapist and muslim hater win ? 

The above statement is why. 

Too many times, those who wish to be PC (Politicaly Correct) have threatened us, burned us in effigy on our own front lawns, tried to get us fired , because we don't agree with them. Heck , I agree with most things PC , lets say 9 out of 10 , but some of those things are really stupid, and they will try to get you fired if you complain about it. 

Donald Trump Won , because various women's liberation organizations stated loud and long that they shouldn't have to go to trial or produce witnesses, a man should be found guilty just on their say so, nothing more should be requried. 

Donald Trump Won because "Slowing the immigration of Muslims" isn't an evil thing. It's another way of saying "take care of american's first, whom I'm obligated to , and strangers at the door can go knock on some other door , we're full up here" ... which every PC'er will try to twist into something evil , but that's the point. Thats why they lost. 

Donald Trump Won because he hates trade deals. Which every joe on the street does the moment they find out their job just moved south to mexico. And the ten million business men shouting "TRADE IS GOOD TRADE IS GOOD GET OUT OF HERE YOU UNEMPLOYED BUM !!!" didn't win any kudo's from anyone but themselves. 

Donald Trump won because if you're an american , the NSA cause of spying on the world for the specific benifit to the american economy is a good thing for you. And non americans who don't like getting ripped off (like me !) we don't get to vote. 

Donald Trump Won because even though he vowed to bring Obama's health care system crashing down , you know he's going to bring in "The Trump Health Care System" that will do pretty much exactly the same thing, so that's really a non-issue.

Donald Trump Won because blacks and homeless largely don't get to vote.  So their opinion doesn't really matter. 

 Donald Trump won because of what Ivanna Trump DIDN'T do. Namely make a big ugly mess, accuse him of nasty things , etc etc. Hey , if you're keeping your wife happy you can't be all that bad. 

 Donald Trump Won because the american Media has been for years stating that if you don't vote for their candidate, the world as we know it will come to the end and it will be the apocalypse. And no one believes them anymore. 

Donald Trump won because we're tired of being told what to think . And when we stand alone in that poll booth , knowning that no one will know who's name we're going to put that X beside, all sorts of evil thoughts come to us. 

 And no , we probably don't regret it. Despite the talk of "Voter Remorse".  

So, lets here it for Donald Trump. Lets cancel those Free Trade agreements and bring those jobs home from Mexico back to canada. Or , Lets Trump those Trade Agreements. 

 

:)

 

 

 

ProtonMail strikes out at Google for crippling encrypted email service searches

 

 

ProtonMail has accused Google of hiding the company from search results in what may have been an attempt to suffocate the Gmail competitor.
The free encrypted email service, which caters to nearly one million users worldwide, has enjoyed an increasing user base and popularity over the past few years as governments worldwide seek to increase their surveillance powers. 

-----  

Why do we care ? Why is this shocking ?

Google is used world wide.  Google Android is on all the cheap phones. Android has it's own store for downloading apps. All controlled by Alphabet Inc, the owners of Google. 

Whom now , it seems are quite happy to decide who you may find on the internet , and who you may not. 

And , in case you've been asleep for the last several years since Edward Snowden , is legally required to do whatever the US Government tells it to do , and not tell anyone about it. 

Basically , some foreign nation (USGov) now controls what the entire planet can see. Oh , and they have a second set of laws , just for people who are not citizens of the united states ?

They have a set of laws for people who are not US Citizens ? You should be freaking out that such laws even exist, not yawning in boredom. They're picking up people they don't like and arresting them and they never foot on US Soil AND YOU COULD BE NEXT ... 

Why is no one freaking out over this ? 

Five Questions for Obama

I'll humiliate you': Duterte challenges West to probe Philippines drugs war

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-3836556/Ill-humiliate-Duterte-challenges-West-probe-Philippines-drugs-war.html#ixzz4MzFeCQpw
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

MANILA, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte called U.S. President Barack Obama, the European Union and United Nations "fools" on Thursday, and warned they would end up humiliated and outsmarted if they accepted an invitation to investigate his war on drugs.
Duterte said he was open to an outside probe by Obama, his Secretary of State John Kerry, the EU and the U.N. Commission on Human Rights into alleged extrajudicial killings, but on the condition that after he was questioned, he had the right to be heard.
"I'll play with you. I'm very sure they cannot be brighter than me. I will ask five questions that will humiliate you," Duterte said. "Watch out for that, it will be a spectacle."

--- --- --- ---

1... Why does the USA still have charges like "Manner of Walking " ?

"The Justice Department report found that citations for minor infractions, such as walking in the road, were all part of an effort by the city to increase revenue through fines. The municipal court can sentence a violator to up to three months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000 or both."
--- http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-walking-black-ferguson-police-justice-report-20150305-story.html

2... why does the USA deny people the right to vote because of Manner of Walking ? 

Qualifications of voters.(Missouri)

115.133. 1. Except as provided in subsection 2 of t

his section, any citizen of the United States who i

s a resident of the

state of Missouri and seventeen years and six month

s of age or older shall be entitled to register and

to vote in any

election which is held on or after his eighteenth b

irthday.

2. No person who is adjudged incapacitated shall be

entitled to register or vote. No person shall be e

ntitled to vote:

(1) While confined under a sentence of imprisonment

;

(2) While on probation or parole after conviction o

f a felony, until finally discharged from such prob

ation or parole; or

(3) After conviction of a felony or misdemeanor con

nected with the right of suffrage.

    (sufferage = right to vote)

3.. Please tell me that Missour law DOES NOT state that if you protest your lack of right to vote, you lose the right to vote ????


4...Why does arresting people for no reason at all , throwing them in jail , and denying them the right to vote sound like a dictatorship ? 


5..Ok , I can't think of number 5. The other four pretty much cover it.

https://www.facebook.com/mubarikgbayere/videos/10153937022280382/

WElcome to the wonderful world of video cams on everyone's phone.
The white woman got arrested for assaulting the cabbie.

:)

Live On Mars - Dead TV Series ?

Life On Mars

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoiUcj8mpOo

A modern (well, 2008 , pretty modern) detective winds up back in 1973, no forensics, no computers, no cell phones, and a fairly corrupt (probably fictional) 125th police district in New York City.

Sounds goofy ? Yes, but I gave it a watch , and found it fascinating. 17 episodes.  (Netflix, I'm on the cheapo 8$ / month plan)

Which is the catch. Who makes a 17 episode season ? Did it suddenly die ? Because I saw that before, a series called Constantine.

It was an awesome show ,up until episode 17 , which did nothing but tick me off and tempt me to rage quit (can you call it rage quitting when you watched all the episodes and it was the end of the last one that ticked you off ? )

What did they do ?

They did the Matrix thing. They did the BAD MATRIX thing.

Basically , it turned out the main charactar and the company of cops he was with were actually on a space ship on a trip to Mars, and to keep their minds active they were each in their own private little virtual world.

Why is this bad ?
1... broke the audience contract. 
   When you show the audience a world , you keep the audience in that world. You don't turn around after 17 episodes and a number of unresolved plot lines and say "enough about that. We're switching to 2035 and you're on a space ship just arriving at Mars" !  That's like making a years worth of some Greys Anatomy Soap Opera, getting everyone to love it and then saying "Forget it, we're going star trek , too bad if you guys don't like sci fi ! ". The audience you carefully built up , who were nostalgic about 1973 , who loved it all , you just ticked them all off. You just lost them.

2... Just a Dream = No Drama
Turns out they're all in little glass coffins on a star ship and they were all safe and sound and never in any danger. Now that you've established that, how are you going to have any dramatic moments ? If he goes back to 1973 , everyone knows he's safe and can't possibly be hurt. If he goes somewhere else, hey , he's just dreaming. Again , no worries.  You killed all hope of drama by doing this.

3...Broken Romance Arc
After 17 episodes of finally getting him to admit he likes that cute little platinum blonde, he wakes up in a space ship on mars and she's not there. She's not one of the crew members, she's not the computer Windy (or "W1N-D") , she's no where. She's a figment of the computer dream's imagination.  This just may be the worst way to end a romance in the history of TV. It certainly deserves nomination as such.

So, would you keep watching a show ? Knowing they're going to keep pulling the rug out from under you and just abandon most of the story once a year ? I know I won't.

Which is why I believe the show was actually Abandonned. As in , the backer said "Aint getting good ratings ! You got 1 episode to shut it down !" . That's really the only explanation that makes any sense here. Because there's no way there can be a next season if you're pulling crap like this. No one would watch it.  The main charactar would have to go back to 1973 , and it would have to NOT be a computer dream. And I just don't see that happening.

EDIT : https://www.justwatch.com/ca/tv-show/life-on-mars

 "Life on Mars garnered critical praise for its premise, acting, and depiction of the 1970s but suffered from a declining viewership after its premiere and a two-month hiatus. ABC announced on March 2, 2009 that it would not be ordering a second season."

 (bottom of the article)

Justin Trudeau vows to turn every Chinese imigrant into a spy for China

Chinese premier arrives on Parliament Hill to kick off visit

 

The spectre of China's "Operation Fox Hunt" -- the pursuit and harassment of so-called economic fugitives and other dissidents -- is casting a shadow over today's talks.
Trudeau has acknowledged that the two countries are engaged in a high-level security dialogue, including the establishment of a controversial extradition treaty.

 ----- ---- ----

So , what kind of extradition treaty could you have with a nation that routinely picks up people just on some communist party's say so, fabricates evidence, and executes people ? Are you going to say "no death penalty" and then when the victims dragged back to china he gets some other fabricated charge thrown at him and gets killed anyways ? Are we only going to allow certain pieces of evidence, effectively creating ground rules for 'how to fabricate evidence' to the Chinese Government ?

By doing this , you are granting the chinese government the right to threaten , extort , and turn into a spy , every single chinese refugee that is in the country.

And thats just the dumbest thing Justin "The Boy Non-Wonder" Trudeau could ever do.

But it looks like he's going to do it anyways.

No more security clearances for Chinese , it seems. They are now subject to black mail by their former nation. So much for the no racism regime we call Canada. Now we will be forced into it.

Next up ! All Former residence of the middle east will be allowed to be extradited by ISIS / ISIL if they don't cooperate ! What could possibly go wrong ?