No solution in sight for Kurdish problem.

CHANCE FOR INDEPENDENT KURDISTAN HAS PASSED

KURDS HAVE BEEN PROBLEM FOR REGION FOR A 100 YEARS

The area called Kurdistan is made up of northwestern Syria, southern Turkey, western Iran and northern Iraq. the ethnic group known as Kurds are a substantial minority in all those countries. They consider themselves decedents of ancient Persian Medes. They do have unique physical features. They are mostly Caucasian and handsome in their appearance. They are also very independent minded.

The Ethic group called Kurd's number 30 million people, they number about 18% of the Turkish population, 17% of the Iraqi population, 7 % of the Iranian population and 9 % in Syria. They seem to be not popular with the other ethnic groups in the region.They have been seeking some sort of independence or autonomy since WW1.

After WW1, they were promised independence after the breakup of the Ottoman empire, but within 2 years the western democracies reversed the plan.

They engaged in several rebellions in the 1920' and 1930's, with Turkey, Iraq and Iran. They have always been brutally defeated.

They rebelled from Iraq in the 1980's and 180,000 were killed by Saddam Hussein.

With the invasion of Iraq in 2003 they sided with the United States and were granted some autonomy and self rule in northern Iraq by the 2005 Iraqi constitution. 

In 2017 a referendum was held and  they voted for independence from Iraq with a 93% vote. This referendum was opposed by all the Western countries and the UN. Interesting that Paul Manafort was hired by the leaders of the referendum to help organize the endeavor.

There was a swift backlash from Iraq, Iran and Turkey which all rejected any such idea.

The Kurdish forces were the main fighting force that defeated the ISIS caliphate. They did the majority of the fighting losing over 11,000 soldiers. They were supported by U.S. air power,weapons and operational assistance.

The Kurdish forces have been in control of northern Syria. There have been negotiations with Syria, Russia, Turkey the U.S. and Iraq. They are split into several factions, all for independence but with opposing political views.

It seems they are also in control of over 10,000 Isis prisoners, many who originated from and are European citizens.  The Trump administration has been negotiating with the EU members to take charge of their citizens. They have refused.

It seems some kind of agreement has been reached between Turkey and Trump, with Turkey agreeing  to deal with these prisoners and relocating Syrian refugees back into northern Syria. There is a meeting planned for next month in Washington.

Many are rightfully concerned that Turkey will use the opportunity to attack the Kurds. If this should transpire it will be an escalation of the middle east chaos. The Kurd's will not be defeated easily and may have access to U.S. air support.

If Turkey begins executing or mistreating the ISIS prisoners, I am sure the EU will be the first to voice their outrage, all the while not willing to deal with the problem.

Turkey may see the situation as an opportunity to expand its influence, not a friend of Syria, not trusting of Iran. If they overstep they will be estranged from NATO and suffer economic consequences. They may also enrage their Kurdish population into an all out civil war.

Then there is the ongoing maneuvering between Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia of who will dominate the region.

No one knows exactly what agreements have been made. Trump's position is that the U.S. cannot be policing the world. That the EU takes no serious effort to repatriate their citizens. The United States seems to be the designated protector of the oil supplies that primarily go to Europe, China and Japan.

Maybe it is a time to step back and see if there any solutions that do not make the United States the only world sheriff.

Pa. Senate passes E-Verify bill for construction industry.

VETO PROOF BI-PARTISAN BILL TO GOVERNOR

WILL GO INTO EFFECT IN 1 YEAR

On. September 25, 2019 the The Pennsylvania Senate passed HB 1170 by a 46-3 vote. The bill was passed by the Pa. House on June 17, 2019 170-28. The bill is now with the Governor who opposes the bill. He is likely to not veto it and it will become law in 10 days.

The bill prohibits the employment of unauthorized employees. It requires all construction employers  to E-Verify all employees using the internet E-Verify system administered by The United States Department of Homeland security and the Social Security administration.

It applies to all employers who have 1 or more employees. It also applies to all sub-contractors or any staffing agency that provides employees to the construction industry.

It allows for 1 warning, second offenses will be prosecuted.  Fines and suspension of business licenses will be applied for second offenses. Offenders will be put on probation and need to report all hires in the future.

It will be administered by the Pa. department of labor.

Proof of E-Verify of all employees must be kept on file. Such proof will insure no liability for unauthorized workers.

This bill is a bi-partisan bill that will minimize the employment of undocumented workers. It will make Pennsylvania less of a magnet for such workers.

It may also result in a shortage of construction workers, cause an increase in pay for legal workers. 

The next issue the legislature should consider is addressing moving the able bodied from welfare to work. There could be subsidies for employers who provide job training and more focus on educating the public and students were there are job opportunities in the state. Efforts should be made to have a clear view as to what careers actually have a need for more workers before a student begins their education.

Democrats all in! No turning back now.

IMPEACHMENT OR BUST

VOTE BY HOUSE REQUIRED TO HAVE REAL INQUIRY

The Democrats have been promising impeachment, ever since Nov. 8, 2016. There have been many who swore that impeachment would come even before Trump took the oath of office. Many ran for office in 2018 promising to work to impeach the president.They are now into it and they can not back down.

Failure to continue to a formal impeachment process will dishearten their base and be as good as an acquittal of any charges now and in the future.

Republicans and the administration may very well refuse to cooperate with this process because there has not been a vote of the House of Representatives to begin a formal impeachment inquiry. It is expected that the white house is drafting a letter to House Speaker Pelosi informing her that they will only cooperate in the inquiry if it is a voted a formal inquiry, rather than an endless investigation.

The Democrats may not want to go to a formal impeachment inquiry because it will allow the republicans an equal ability to subpoena witnesses. Many of the Democrats may not want some of these people to be forced to testify under oath.

What seems to be really going on is an action to distract from the investigations going on about the Russian collusion accusations in the 2016 election.

What Trump has been doing is making requests and introductions to the leaders of Italy, UK, Australia, Ukraine and possibly Russia to introduce to them that they are being asked to cooperate with Attorney General Barr. Such introductions are necessary to assure foreign leaders that they are cooperating with the approval of the U.S. government. Many of these communications have been going on for many months. 

The Democrats and those who may be under investigation in the State department, Justice Department, CIA and FBI are hoping to squash any such investigations by labeling them as campaign activities.

Both William Barr and Special Counsel John Durham have already traveled to the UK and Italy on several occasions. 

Some of  the Justice Department Inspector General's investigations are complete, they are to be released soon. The Inspector general cannot issue subpoena's or indict. All this information will be handed over to the Attorney general and the Special Council Durham, they can call grand juries and indict.

Trump's open requests to both Ukraine and China have not only outraged many about asking for political help in an election, it has also focused a light on Biden family dealings that are questionable.

While the Ukraine dealings smack of nepotism and extortion of a foreign government, the allegations concerning China are possibly much worse.

The sum of the Chinese affair is that the Chinese government placed 1.5 Billion in a Hunter Biden Company to invest in other than Chinese companies. These investment were in effect for the Chinese government. One of these companies made equipment and technology for sensitive defense equipment. Some of this technology was transferred to the Chinese government. This Biden Investment co., also invested in mining operations in Africa that provided strategic defense minerals to China. It is not revealed if Hunter Biden ever registered as a foreign Agent or if these transactions were approved by the Obama Administration.

It most likely will not be in the China's interest to reveal anything about this, but the U.S. Senate has been looking into this.

One thing for sure, a formal impeachment inquiry will require that all house members vote on this matter. If it does go to the Senate all those members will need to vote, both democrats and republicans. After these votes, they better be sure that nothing is going to come out later that will make such votes look as a political rush to judgement.

No one really knows what is going to come of all this, we may know by the end of this year.

New FBI crime statistics for 2018

VIOLENT CRIME DOWN 3.3% IN 2018

MURDER IS DOWN 6.6%

The FBI has released the numbers for 2018 from the Uniformed crime report.

There were 14,123 murders in 2018 compared to 15,129 in 2017.

There were 10,256 murders with firearms compared to 10982 in 2017.

There were 297 Murders with rifles in 2018.

Property crimes were down 6.9%.

Robbery down 12%.

Rape up 2.7%.

There were 10.3 million reported arrests made in 2018.

To view the complete report go to.  https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2018/crime-in-the-u.s.-2018

Iceland, The Land of fire and Ice

ICELAND OUR NEIGHBOR TO THE NORTH

Imagine an island about 100 times smaller than the United States in land mass and 1000 times smaller in population…but with 100 times more tourists than residents and 130 active volcanos…one of which stopped air traffic across Europe for 6 days when it erupted in 2010.
That’s Iceland.
A clean, cold, virtually crime-free island filled with natural beauty (think the Colorado Rockies above the tree line), geysers, waterfalls, and black sand beaches. The coastline and sky could be dramatic and the cities were clean and calm, with no evidence of homeless or “street” people. The people I met were friendly – including the police officers that pulled my colleague over for speeding – which is not surprising in a small, homogeneous country.


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Iceland’s interior is uninhabitable, so the population of just over 300,000 lives primarily in towns and villages situated on the coast. Almost half the population lives in the capitol, Reykjavik and the surrounding southwestern areas. Towns are linked by a primary road that hugs the coast around the island’s perimeter. Settled by the Vikings in the 9th century, the people still speak the language of their ancestors, with some accommodation for modern vocabulary additions.
Thanks to natural hot water, most of the population enjoys access to cheap, pollution-free hot water and inexpensive hydropower. The availability of abundant geothermal energy allows huge greenhouses to produce everything from bananas to strawberries in Iceland’ extreme climate, with enough surplus that some items are exported. I had the pleasure of enjoying a tomato-based meal (it was delicious, despite the sound of it!) in a warm, lovely restaurant-greenhouse surrounded by the largest, tallest tomato plants I’ve ever seen.
With no large native predators, sheep, horses, and cows tend to roam freely once you leave the larger towns and cities. The Icelandic horse is a small, long-lived and hardy breed. I was lucky enough to spend some time in a stable with these beauties. Icelandic law prevents horses from being imported into the country and exported animals are not allowed to return. The breed is still used for traditional sheepherding work as well as for leisure, showing, and racing. In fact, people visit Icelandic farms in order to participate in sheep round- ups.

Iceland’s economy combines a capitalist structure and free-market principles with an extensive welfare system. Fishing is the main industry, although wool products and, more recently, tourism are also contributor. Iceland was reportedly “discovered” as a tourist destination after qualifying for the World Cup in 2018.  Everywhere I went, the tourists outnumbered the native Icelanders. Tour buses and cruise ships pumped lines of Asian, European, Indian, and American tourists -bundled against the fierce Icelandic winds – into the key natural attractions. They often scurried into a setting for a quick picture and dashed back to their vehicles for the next stop.
Historically, immigration has not been an issue in Iceland. Immigration policies were formerly focused on assimilation – the concept that immigrants and other ethnic minorities leave their original culture and language behind and adopt those of their new country. As more people became interested in immigrating to Iceland, the Icelandic government launched a special immigration policy whose goal was to protect immigrants’ rights, while teaching them about their rights and obligations as members of Icelandic society. The policy’s objective was to give immigrants the opportunity to be independent and active members of Icelandic society, and to be on equal footing with native Icelanders.
The northern lights are supposed to be spectacular in September (unfortunately, it was too overcast to see them), and the weather is still friendly enough to allow for outdoor adventures…but bring water and wind-proof clothes…you’ll need them!


By Wendy Gloffke , guest travel writer.

Leakers, whistle-blowers,Trump, Biden

LEAKERS ARE PROSECUTED, WHISTLE BLOWERS PROTECTED

PRESIDENT UNDER CONTINUOUS  SURVEILLANCE

The latest media and democratic hysteria about a phone call between President Trump and the new Ukrainian president is just the latest in a continuous attempt to discredit and overturn the 2016 election.

In this call the president asked the Ukrainian president's help in checking into the reports that have been alleged by members of the Ukrainian Parliament and others in the Ukraine that the servers for the DNC that were allegedly hacked in the 2016 election were in the Ukraine. This investigation is an ongoing matter before this phone conversation.

The president also makes reference to corruption in the Ukrainian government, that the new President pledged to expose and reform. He also referred to the removal of a prosecutor at the demand of former Vice-President Joe Biden.

The allegations are that Trump is attempting to pressure the Ukrainians to manufacture dirt on the Bidens for political advantage.

If you read the transcript of the call, Trump did not pressure the Ukrainian, He did not link aid to the Ukrainian cooperation. The so called whistle-blowers only correct account is that there was a phone call and that they did discuss the DNC servers and possible questionable behavior by Biden when he threatened to withhold a loan guarantee to the Ukraine unless the then president of the Ukraine fired the Prosecutor who was investigating the company that his son Hunter was being paid $50,000 a month, as a member of the board of directors.

There are many investigations ongoing in the Ukraine, the U.S. Justice department and the state department. These investigations are mostly concerning the 2016 election and the origins of accusations of Russian interference in the election.

It seems there is now a concerted effort by the Democrats, the Obama administration and their supporters in government to squash or discredit and investigations that might put them in a bad light.

If they didn't do anything wrong, why are they so concerned?

This whistle-blower complaint is again an anonymous allegation of reports he received from other anonymous leakers. The complaint has enhanced and distorted the actual phone conversation to allege the motivations of Trump which are not factually proven by the actual transcript.

The rules for filing such a complaint were changed within days of the filing. It was never allowed to file a complaint if you were not a first hand witness. This seems to have been changed to allow hearsay as the basis for the complaint.

Adam Shiff, the democratic chairman, in his opening statement embellished the transcript to make it seem more serious than the reality.

This is another example of a pattern that we have seen concerning Russian collusion and sexual accusations against Bret Kavanaugh. The same orchestrated cooperation between the democrats, government employees and the media, followed by the talk of impeachment.

Up until now, once the accusations are disproved, everyone just moves onto the next accusation. Those falsely accused are supposed to just let it all be forgotten. There needs to be penalties and accountability for false accusations.

It seems this appears to be a all or nothing attempt to remove the President from office.

It may be more about a last ditch effort to hide wrong doing and corruption in the last administration and career bureaucrats in Washington.

I hear a lot about breaking of laws and unconstitutional actions, but there is never any actual statutes referenced.

While the public has become weary of the continuous hysteria, we are about to embark on a show trial that will undoubtedly put the last nail in the coffin of national unity.

Universal background checks are possible

CHECK SYSTEM NEEDS SIMPLIFICATION AND MODERNIZATION

MUST PROTECT PRIVACY AND NOT BE A REGISTRATION SYSTEM

NEW REAL ID

There is a continuous drumbeat of more gun control and background checks on all purchasers. This could be possible if the democrats were sincere in prohibiting felons and violent individuals from purchasing guns. 

The present background check system was instituted in 1995. This is before the computer and internet age was part of our experience. It applied to commercial sales between licensed dealers and individuals. It did not apply to individual sales mostly because in some rural areas there could be possibly 100's of miles to the nearest dealer and was in reality unenforceable. It required filling out a form and answering questions and a signature as to its truthfulness. It is conducted over the telephone and a approval number is given to the dealer who marks it on the form. The form is kept with the dealer for as long as they are in business. 

Sales  concerning out of state purchases has been regulated since 1968. All sales outside the sellers state, whether a dealer or individual, the item must be shipped to a licensed dealer in the state of residence of the purchaser. The background check is then conducted by the dealer in that state. This law already covers internet sales. There seems to be a lot of misinformation on this matter.

Since 1995 there has been vast improvements and availability of the internet. With the new technology available it is now possible to simplify and improve the whole background check system. It would result in lower costs for the government regulators. Lower cost for purchasers. A saving of time and complexity for dealers and sellers. It could also cover all transactions rather than just commercial transactions.

Starting in October 2020, all state identification is going to be enhanced, you will not be able to fly without the new ID. This is an opportunity to include part of the enhanced background check into this system. 

1. All those who anticipate buying a firearm anytime in the future would have a background check conducted. He would be issued a number that would be part of his enhanced ID. 

2. At present, the Dept of Justice maintains a Licensed dealer e-z check database. All transactions involving shipments to dealers can be checked by putting part of his dealer number into the form and it verifies his address and validity of his license. A similar database could be created containing the name, address,and date of birth of all those who have passed a background check.

3. Any sales in the future by dealers and private individuals would be checked by this database.  The new ID would need to be produced in person. The form would contain the purchasers info and time and date of the transaction. 2 copies would be printed and a copy kept by both the seller and purchaser. These papers would be kept by the dealers and individuals for future reference if needed. This database would be maintained  as it is now and upgraded daily with changes in the status of those on the database.

4. This system would save money for the sellers, buyers and the regulators. It would also protect gun owners from having a database as to what guns they own, in effect a registration system. Any attempt at registration systems must be resisted to the maximum. It can only exist to create the ability of despots to disarm the populace.

5. Out of state or not face to face transactions would still need to be shipped to a dealer in the buyers state.

This system would be a vast improvement to present system, it would expand the checks and would be easily complied with. I believe compliance would be very high with such a system. Expanding the present system would undoubtedly have a very low compliance rate.