#Donald Trump&039;s inability to understand basic things

[kj1966-blog]

The main reason why I don’t like Political Correctness is that it has an ability to silence the truth.

I don’t have any proof but I suspect that political correctness was created by those who came from the middle of nowhere and camouflaged themselves as a living fragment of so-called High Society.

Somehow they managed to sell their hypersensitive attitude as highly refined manners. I assume that it was their defence against a sharp and truthful sense of humour.

Since fake individuals, in general, do not have a sense of humour, this camouflage protected them from being exposed.

At one point fake individuals realized that people buy their fiction. Therefore, they embark on an aggressive promotion campaign began to aggressively promote the idea that for the sake of “right” attitude it must be not acceptable to say anything which contains razor-sharp truth.

To support this view, fake individuals said that we must be respectful to those for whom such truth is nothing but pain.

It seems that it was their second victory which boosted fake people’s confidence and accelerated the growth of Political Correctness’ dominance.

What people failed to understand is that there is no such thing as High Society. Because if there is High Society, there must be Low Society. People who admire artificially created terms, cannot see that they are those who represent Low Society.

Only people with low self-esteem would accept it.

If we look back a few things, besides the fact that we went through “wear & tear” process, look very different today.

In the 60s and 70s, the world of entertainment was filled with enormously talented people.

As soon as we heard the first chords, we found out who was singing. Even today those songs are very relevant and appeal to people of all generations. Deep Purple, Lets Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Tina Turner, Cher, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles and many more.

But even the 80s and the 90s were represented by a number of talented people: Madonna, Michael Jackson (he became famous earlier but to me, he symbolizes the 80s, Prince, Whitney Houston, and many others.

What about cinematography? Doctor Zhivago, Easy Rider, Guess Who’s Comming To Dinner, Psycho and zillion more. Truly talented actors who are stilled loved by people around the world.

The same goes for literature: The Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov; The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle; Catch-22, Joseph Heller; The Crying of Lot 49, Thomas Pynchon; Ragtime, E.L.Doctorow and many more.

And it was not only about entertainment or literature. So many other incredible events happened during that period: Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human being to travel into space. Apollo 11 blasted off on July 16, 1969. Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins were the astronauts on Apollo 11 and four days later, Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon.

And, of course, it would be a crime against humanity not to mention remarkable personalities who are the face of that period of time. Rosa Louise Parks, although it happened in 1955 when she refused to surrender her seat to a white male passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus, it would be not fair not to mention her because her heroic actions triggered a wave of protest. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

Andrei Sakharov, a Soviet Union’s nuclear physicist, dissident, and activist for disarmament, peace and human rights. He played a key role in the development of the first megaton-range Soviet hydrogen bomb using a design known as Sakharov’s Third Idea in Russia and the Teller–Ulam design in the United States. But when he realized the scale of the danger his creation represents he condemned Soviet development of thermonuclear weapons faced state persecution; these efforts earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975.

Boeing 747 100 First Flight

Many other events happened during that time, including the Boeing 747 is an American wide-body commercial jet airliner and cargo aircraft, often referred to by its original nickname, “Jumbo Jet”, the world’s most recognizable aircraft and it was the first wide-body produced. Since its first commercial flight on January 21, 1970, with Pan Am, the 747 has dominated the wide-body market for 37 years.

The main point is that people were well read and well-informed. They were politically active. It doesn’t mean that they dd not know how to have fun because they were boring. Actually, it was quite opposite. They knew how to have fun. And fun they had :).

But people also knew how to balance their social life with their obligations as citizens.

On October 21, 1967, one of the most prominent anti-war demonstrations took place. After a brutal confrontation with the soldiers and U.S. Marshals protecting the building, hundreds of demonstrators were arrested.

Also in 1967, the anti-war movement got a big boost when the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. went public with his opposition to the war on moral grounds, condemning the war’s diversion of federal funds from domestic programs as well as the disproportionate number of African-American casualties in relation to the total number of soldiers killed in the war.

Joining the anti-war demonstrations by this time were members of the organization Vietnam Veterans Against the War, many of whom were in wheelchairs and on crutches. The sight of these men on television throwing away the medals they had won during the war did much to win people over to the anti-war cause.

Tensions ran higher than ever, spurred on by mass demonstrations and incidents of official violence such those at Kent State in May 1970, when National Guard troops shot into a group of protesters demonstrating against the U.S. invasion of Cambodia, killing four students.

In mid-1971, the publication of the first Pentagon Papers–which revealed previously confidential details about the war’s conduct. More and more Americans questioned the accountability of the U.S. government. In response to a strong anti-war mandate, Nixon announced the effective end to U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia in January 1973. Nixon’s resignation was also possible only because of the public pressure.

Then things started to change. Without going much into details, I assume that the process of decline started when the balance between citizens’ obligation and time to have fun has been disturbed.

On August 1, 1981, history was made when MTV, the first 24-hour video music channel, launched onto our television sets and literally changed our lives with the birth of the music video.

Although reality TV was first introduced in the 1940s, it didn’t really take off until 1990s when it became popular and it’s popularity continues with accelerating speed. Perhaps reality TV had to wait so long because people were intellectually developed. Smart people wouldn’t want to spend hours of their own life watching how other people enjoy theirs. But by 1990, the public was already prepared for it.

As far as I recall, this was the time when High Society reached the peak of its popularity. People who perceived as representatives of High Society automatically became stars.

Although I must say that to me, these individuals are more like bulbs 20w under powerful lights at a scene during the shooting of reality TV episodes rather than stars. They simply have no ability to reach those heights for them to be called stars.

Reality TV produced Paris Hilton, the first woman who became famous for nothing. I guess that obsession with material stuff started to rise about the same time.

As far as I recall, this was the time when High Society reached the peak of its popularity.

The number of incredible movies started to decline as well. More and more movies about artificial intelligence, distant future or worlds as well as absolutely meaningless creations which show that laws of physics are no longer apply, gradually started to replace movies about us, humans, our issues, our worries, emotions, tragedies and happy moments.

I think that even comedians have changed. The last Great Comedian of 20th and 21st Centuries, in my opinion, was Joan Rivers.

The only one who can stand close to her is Kathy Griffin. But we all know what fake people did to her. They punished her for not committed a crime. Her entire crime was that he caused pain to hypersensitive idiots.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Entertainment is no longer entertaining. Many signers have little talent. They sound the same, look the same.

Songs lyrics are hard to call lyrics. One of them worth to mention.

DJ Aligator – The Whistle Song … Blow my whistle, baby Blow my whistle, baby open up and put it in Let’s begin Blow it like you mean it, blow Let me hear ya say, woo-woo Louder, woo-woo Let me hear ya say, woo-woo Louder, woo-woo Is that what you call loud?

I was driving when I heard it for the first time and I barely escaped collision with a car in front of me. I couldn’t believe what I hear. It is a song about a blowjob! Aired on RADIO!!!

If previously people admired their idols, today idols are being worshipped. There is a big difference between admiration and obsession. Admiration is healthy and obsession is nothing but mental obesity.

Same goes for literature. It is difficult to imagine that Fifty Shades of Grey could have got so much media attention in the 60s or the 70s. Because then people knew what is love and what is not.

***

The process of deterioration progressed incredibly slow and properly marketed. Therefore, it could be the reason why it went undetected on for a while.

I assume that the first alarming sings started to pop us in 2001 after tragic events in New York when under a cover of the war on terror civil liberties of American people started to shrink.

Truth is seldom looking good. Very often it is so ugly that even Donald Trump would look not so bad compared to the truth.

But despite its ugly appearance, the truth delivers a very important message. The truth tries to warn us about troubles ahead.

Instead of being scared o its appearance, we should treat truth like our closest friend.

Meanwhile, we also need to show Political Correctness in a very polite manner how to get to the door.

POLITICAL CORRECTNESS SHOULDN’T BE CONFUSED WITH GOOD MANNERS BECAUSE IT IS CAPABLE TO SILENCE THE TRUTH: Therefore, SCREW Political Correctness. (Half True & Half Fiction) The main reason why I don't like Political Correctness is that it has an ability to silence the truth.

[kj1966-blog]

We all are born prejudice free. However, as we grow up mental trash is being poured into our heads continuously.

Considering that propaganda machine has tirelessly kept on persuading us that what we are told is the ultimate truth, naturally, many people do not even realize that they might think is true is actually false.

As a result of the collapse of USSR, I personally went through a mental spring cleaning and I must admit that the process of removing accumulated mental trash is not very pleasant.

It is believed that the United States is a locomotive of democracy. But is it so?

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF DEMOCRACY

Democracy originated more than 2,400 years ago in ancient Greece. The word “democracy” means “rule by the people.” While this definition tells us that the citizens of a democracy govern their nation, it omits essential parts of the idea of democracy as practised in countries around the world.

What are the five foundations of democracy?

Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is the key international guarantee of voting rights and free elections, but its provisions are strongly related to other articles, specifically Article 2. The ICCPR also includes guarantees of freedom of expression (Article 19), assembly (Article 21), association (Article 22), and non-discrimination (Article 26).

ICCPR, Article 25: Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without any of the distinctions mentioned in Article 2 and without unreasonable restrictions:

(a) To take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; (b) To vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors; (c) To have access, on general terms of equality, to public service in his country.

It seems that the United States does not meet this requirement as the 2016 US presidential elections have demonstrated that majority votes aren’t the decisive factor.

In the US every state gets a certain number of votes depending partly on the size of its population. The way it’s worked out means there’s a minimum of three votes per state.

On 15th November 2016, BBC published “Reality Check: Is US system a ‘disaster for democracy’?”. In it, BBC explained that in most states, the most popular candidate wins all of its votes, even if 49% of people voted a different way. The system is different in Maine and Nebraska, where voting is broken down into Congressional districts, which means not all the state’s electoral college votes have to go to the same candidate.

Winning a state like California, which gets 55 of the total 538 electoral college votes, will put a candidate a long way towards the 270 state votes needed to win the presidency. Even if they win that state by a single vote, they get all 55 votes.

It is better to win by a small margin in lots of states than win by a landslide in just a few – the scale of the win (and therefore the number of people who support you) is meaningless – you still only get one state with a fixed number of electoral college votes.

The Guardian reported that there’s no debate at this point that Hillary Clinton has won the popular vote and the delegate count to win the Democratic primary. But even Clinton supporters should agree that our supposedly “democratic” system for picking nominees for president is terribly broken and should be dramatically overhauled.

  kjworldwidecitizen.blog

  Another confirmation that the U.S. does not meet fundamental principles of democracy was illustrated in analysis of Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world.

Pew Research Center reported that Donald Trump won 304 electoral votes to Hillary Clinton’s 227, with five Democratic and two Republican “faithless electors” voting for other people. That result was despite the fact that Clinton received nearly 2.9 million more popular votes than Trump in November’s election, according to Pew Research Center’s tabulation of state election results. Our tally shows Clinton won 65.8 million votes (48.25%) to almost 63 million (46.15%) for Trump, with minor-party and independent candidates taking the rest.

According to Pew Research Center, this mismatch between the electoral and popular votes came about because Trump won several large states (such as Florida, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) by very narrow margins, gaining all their electoral votes in the process, even as Clinton claimed other large states (such as California, Illinois and New York) by much wider margins. Trump’s share of the popular vote, in fact, was the seventh-smallest winning percentage since 1828, when presidential campaigns began to resemble those of today.

Trump’s victory another example of how Electoral College wins are bigger than popular vote ones

Pew Research Center highlights that in fact, the very nature of the way the U.S. picks its presidents tends to create a disconnect between the outcome in the Electoral College and the popular vote. The last time a popular-vote loser won the presidency in the Electoral College was, of course, in 2000, when George W. Bush edged out Al Gore 271-266 despite Gore winning some 537,000 more popular votes nationwide. The other electoral-popular vote mismatches came in 1876 and 1888; in all four instances the Democratic nominee ended up the loser. (In the 1824 election, which was contested between rival factions of the old Democratic-Republican Party, Andrew Jackson won a plurality of the popular and electoral vote, but because he was short of an Electoral College majority the election was thrown to the House of Representatives, which chose runner-up John Quincy Adams.)

Even in the vast majority of U.S. elections, in which the same candidate won both the popular and the electoral vote, the system usually makes the winner’s victory margin in the former a lot wider than in the latter. In 2012, for example, Barack Obama won 51% of the nationwide popular vote but nearly 62% of the electoral votes, or 332 out of 538.

According to The Washington Post, the 2016 election was the first one held after the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act in 2013. As a result, it saw increasingly restrictive voter ID laws, the shuttering of polling stations in minority-dominated districts and exhortations to “monitor” polls for alleged fraud in nonwhite communities, which reportedly experienced systematically longer voting queues. It’s difficult to assess how much such measures affected turnout. But whether it changes an election’s result, targeting one party’s supporters to discourage or prevent them from voting undermines democracy.

Residents of Washington line up for early voting in the 2016 presidential election at the Chevy Chase Community Center in Washington on Oct. 29. (Jim Lo Scalzo/European Pressphoto Agency)

The Washington Post highlights that recent studies of competitive authoritarian elections reveal how leaders undermine informal norms of fair play in ways that do not violate procedural democracy but prevent democracy from functioning effectively.

In particular, misinformation has become central to nondemocratic elections around the world. Of course, politicians always skirt the truth. But until 2016, falsehoods in U.S. presidential campaigns mostly involved misrepresentations of complex policy proposals. By contrast, this election saw an extraordinary number of blatantly false statements. Fake news often overwhelmed factual reporting.

      kjworldwidecitizen.blog

  The system which exists in the U.S. doesn’t make any sense. If the majority does not rule but instead is being ruled by the minority, why the United States is still considered as a democratic country?

Possibly, the answer to this question could be found almost everywhere: TV, radio, newspapers, social media or even when we walk down the street.

The answer is in the growing inequality gap, almost vanished middle class, ballooning sovereign debt, a spike in hate crimes and Donald Trump, the least qualified person to be the President in the history of mankind.

The accumulated mental trash is not as harmless. If we don’t clean up our mind regularly, we might be completely blindfolded because propaganda rubbish won’t let us see the reality clearly.

Without clarity, people could lose the ability to detect the core reason for a problem. And without knowing what and where malfunctioned, it is impossible to find a solution.

It is well known that even small unresolved problem could grow into a huge monster. Repeating statements which are obviously false is not going to turn them into true statements.

Since it is not too late, perhaps this is the right time for people to start mental spring cleaning, get rid of all mental trash and start fixing badly wounded society.

  THE EXISTING VOTING SYSTEM QUESTIONS THE STATUS OF THE UNITED STATES AS A DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY We all are born prejudice free. However, as we grow up mental trash is being poured into our heads continuously.

[kj1966-blog]

https://www.bloomberg.com

Goldman Thinks This Fed Meeting May Not Be a Sleeper After All

Far from being a complete non-event, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. expects a slightly hawkish upgrade of language at the Federal Reserve meeting this week, slated to be Janet Yellen’s last.

“We expect the FOMC to issue a generally upbeat post-meeting statement that includes an upgrade to the balance of risks and a slightly hawkish rewording of the inflation assessment,” Goldman economists led by Jan Hatzius wrote in a note dated Saturday. “Taken together, we believe the tone of the statement will be consistent with a hike at the March meeting, barring a sharp weakening in economic conditions.”

Inflation remains below target, but measures of it have firmed recently and “we think many Committee members will view the core inflation rebound in recent months as additional evidence that last year’s shortfall largely reflected temporary, idiosyncratic factors,” the report said.

Goldman Thinks This Fed Meeting May Not Be a Sleeper After All

The economists also see the risks to the economic outlook changed to “balanced” from “roughly balanced.”

“In our view, the ‘roughly balanced’ verbiage in the December statement was already somewhat stale, particularly when viewed in the context of the minutes’ upbeat growth commentary and risk assessment,” they said. “Public remarks since that meeting bolster the case for an upgrade, and by our count, at least half of the Committee has recently referenced upside risks to growth.”

Continue reading

  The 6 Things to Watch in This Week’s Fed Meeting

The Federal Open Market Committee meeting this week is likely to reinforce the baseline expectation of three hikes this year thanks to a more upbeat outlook for the U.S. and global economies, and somewhat diminished concern about “lowflation.”

Her last meeting.  Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Specifically:

Rather than be deterred by the headline miss on the first estimate of fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth reported Jan. 26, Fed officials are likely to welcome the data’s relatively strong internals, particularly those regarding investment and consumption. Indeed, the latest numbers will be seen as adding to a more general string of solid economic reports, both for the U.S. and for the rest of the world.

This synchronized pickup in global growth, along with increased comfort with the inflation dynamics, will solidify the previous baseline guidance of three 25-basis-points hikes in 2018, with the first likely to take place in March. The recent depreciation of the dollar also contributes to this outlook. Indeed, compared with last year, market and Fed expectations for the annual path of rate hikes are on track for a much earlier convergence.

Although some observers and market participants may also be tempted to alter the balance of risks to the upside — that is, to expect four rather than two hikes in the event the current baseline fails to materialize — the Fed will see the two-sided risks as balanced for now.

There is unlikely to be anything new or notable about the balance-sheet reduction plan. The previously announced timeline won’t be revised or even highlighted in any major way. Meanwhile, more general exploratory discussions about frameworks and targets are likely to proceed gradually, with the aim of ensuring continued effective baseline management and exploring contingencies, resilience and reactions in the event of unanticipated adverse shocks.

With a successful steady-as-it goes monetary policy in the U.S., more attention will need to be devoted to the economic and market impact, including on U.S. interest rates and other market valuations, of the actions likely to be taken this year by the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank in response to better-than-anticipated developments in their economies. But Fed deliberations on these matters are unlikely to be publicized in any notable fashion.

Finally, this will be Chair Janet Yellen’s last FOMC meeting, and she is likely to receive lots of accolades from her colleagues. Working collaboratively and effectively with other Fed governors and regional presidents, she has engineered an ongoing “beautiful normalization” — that is, a gradual, cautious and sequential exit from years of unconventional monetary policies that have neither disrupted markets nor derailed growth. The new Fed chair, Jerome Powell, is well placed to build on and successfully extend this achievement.

Continue reading

Liam Fox Says It’s ‘Foolish’ to Challenge Embattled May

Theresa May is fighting on multiple fronts as critics inside her governing Conservative Party threaten to upend her plans for Brexit and even her premiership.

But in a key intervention Liam Fox, an ardent supporter of Brexit and her international trade secretary, had a message for Tories thinking of calling for a no-confidence vote in May’s leadership: “They would be foolish to do anything to destabilise the government and the prime minister. Nothing will change the electoral arithmetic.” Tories only have a working majority in Parliament thanks to the Democratic Unionist Party.

Liam Fox Photographer: Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg

The government has been given the task of delivering Brexit and “the prime minister has shown the resilience” to do the job,” Fox said in an interview. “Ultimately we have to get an agreement that will please different wings of the Conservative Party but most importantly that is good for the country.”

May’s party is split over how to leave the European Union as time runs out for finalizing the U.K.’s policy. Opponents of retaining EU trade rules after a divorce want her to fire Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, who they say is trying to deny them the clean, quick break they want.

Some Conservative lawmakers complain she’s failing to show leadership, amid media reports that they are poised to try to trigger a vote of no confidence in the prime minister. Even U.S. President Donald Trump offered a critical assessment of May’s handling of Brexit, saying in an interview broadcast at the weekend he’d have taken a “tougher stand” with the EU.

Continue reading

When Russian Officials ‘Nightmare’ Your Business, You Can Lose Everything—Even Your Life

If a well-connected rival wants somebody’s law practice or tech startup, there’s a fair chance he can get it. Here’s the latest twist on these assaults.

Late last year, Moscow news media reported that an armed man had taken hostages at a candy factory in the city and killed a guard. The alleged shooter turned out to be a former owner of the factory, still fighting for control of it. He told Business FM before his arrest that he was resisting a raid staged by law enforcement agents to seize the business. In court, he said he had killed the guard in self-defence. He is now in remand prison, or pre-trial detention, pending the results of an investigation.

Ruslan Telkov outside the prison where he was detained for “violating the authors’ rights of leopards” by using their skin pattern in the furniture upholstery he manufactured. Photographer: Misha Friedman for Bloomberg

His claims struck a chord in Russia, where innumerable business owners, company managers, lawyers and other professionals have spent years in detention and lost their assets, their health or even their lives to a widespread culture of prosecutorial excess.

One spent a year in prison accused of stealing the intellectual property of leopards by using their skin pattern in the furniture upholstery he made; he lost $360,000, by his count, including his business. Another, a contractor named Andrey Kleshchin, was just released from a year’s confinement in his apartment, where he was banned from using the telephone or the internet.

“But the most unbearable thing is to watch my business, which I had built over the years, being destroyed,” Kleshchin wrote in response to questions passed to him by his lawyer.

Continue reading

Workers say they warned Amtrak before deadly crash

By Scott Bronstein, Drew Griffin and Collette Richards, CNN Investigates

Updated 1922 GMT (0322 HKT) January 28, 2018

Portland, Oregon (CNN)In the days before Amtrak 501 careened off the tracks last month in a deadly crash, engineers and conductors warned their supervisors that they did not feel adequately trained on the new route, according to more than a dozen sources.

Several train cars flew off an overpass, landing on Interstate 5 in the December 18 accident near DuPont, Washington, which left three dead and more than 100 injured. At the time, Amtrak 501 was making its inaugural journey of a new Seattle-to-Portland run called the Point Defiance Bypass route.

  Workers say they warned Amtrak before deadly crash

  Engineers and conductors had safety concerns, citing rushed and “totally inadequate” training which left them feeling dangerously unprepared for the new route, according to multiple sources, including several directly involved in the training. Crew members traditionally train on new routes to familiarize themselves with the signs, terrain and other physical characteristics which vary from route to route.

Some training runs were performed at night, with as many as six or more crew members stuffed into cars with just three seats, which meant some trainees rode backwards, in the dark, the sources said. Engineers felt they did not get enough practice runs at the controls and could not properly see to familiarize themselves with the route.

Continue reading

  NEWS SUMMARY. 29TH JAN 2018/KUALA LUMPUR TIME/UTC/GMT +8 hours: Goldman Thinks This Fed Meeting May Not Be a Sleeper After All. … The 6 Things to Watch in This Week’s Fed Meeting. … Liam Fox Says It’s ‘Foolish’ to Challenge Embattled May. … When Russian Officials ‘Nightmare’ Your Business, You Can Lose Everything—Even Your Life. … Workers say they warned Amtrak before deadly crash Goldman Thinks This Fed Meeting May Not Be a Sleeper After All Far from being a complete non-event, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

[kj1966-blog]

Quality of life is dependent on the effectiveness of order in the society. If rules promote mutual respect and equality before the law, it creates an inclusive society and significantly reduces hate crimes statistics.

Despite the general perception that the United States of America is the land of free, it may have little to do with reality.

For the international community, the discrepancy between perception and reality started to surface at the beginning of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. “They are not our friend, believe me,” he said, before disparaging Mexican immigrants: “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

On 11th of November 2016, BBC reported that dozens of alleged hate crimes have surfaced on social media in the wake of the election of Donald Trump. BBC questioned whether hate crimes spiked after Trump’s victory?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

ON 14th November 2017, The Independent reported that the number of hate crimes in America spiked last year for the first time after years of decline, according to new FBI data.

According to The Independent, the number of hate crimes in 2016 jumped by nearly 300 reported cases compared to the year prior, with 6,121 incidents reported the FBI last year compared to 5,850 in 2015.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Independent highlights that it is a concerning spike that defies a trend since the agency first began recording data on the type of crime in 1992. There were 8,759 hate crimes reported to the FBI in 1996, for instance, even though there were more police departments that participated in that particular survey.

If a number of factual evidence suggest that Donald Trump might be the reason for the hate crime spikes why no legal consequences followed? Is it because the US law does not recognize a speech that leads to such spike as a crime?

Apparently, there are views that hate speech itself is not a crime.

On 20th February 2017, WBUR reported that the right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopolous has come under fire on college campuses and elsewhere for expressing views that some call hate speech.

According to Santa Clara University law professor Margaret Russell, if someone is speaking in a way and in a context in which they’re encouraging violence that could be imminent, and they are intentionally trying to bring that about, that is known as incitement, and that is not protected speech.”

Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson speaks with Santa Clara University law professor Margaret Russell about what the legal rules on hate speech are.

I am not an expert in the US Law but it is difficult to agree with Margaret Russell’s opinion.

  First, I am not sure whether it is possible to identify with 100% accuracy whether a racially charged statement could imminently lead to a violence. Since it is not humanly possible, using it as a basis for qualification whether or not such statement is a crime doesn’t make any sense.

Having said that, a number of other factors may be used to identify whether it is highly possible that the outcome of such statement could be harmful to another person or group of people.

Second, generally, it is difficult to imagine that racist statements could be made in order to maintain a conversation. When a person expresses views which are racist by their nature, it is done for a reason. Together with reason comes the intent.

Third, I am surprised by Margaret Russell’s interpretation of the Law.

  On 10th December 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court heard argument in Elonis v. the United States, a case that asks what a “true threat” is. In prior cases, the High Court has said that true threats may be criminally punished, notwithstanding the First Amendment protection for the freedom of speech. In Elonis, the question is whether the person who utters a true threat must subjectively intend to bring about fear of bodily harm or death or whether it is enough that a reasonable person uttering the words in the context would foresee that his words would be interpreted as such a threat.

In the case before the Court, the question breaks down into two parts: (1) Did Congress require intent in the statute under which Anthony Elonis was prosecuted and convicted, 18 U.S.C. §875(c); and (2) Regardless of what the statute provides, does the First Amendment right of free speech require that only a person intending to cause fear with his threatening utterances be subject to criminal penalties? In this column, I will examine the second, constitutional, question in light of the reason that we exclude true threats from protection for speech under the First Amendment.

  The Supreme Court on “True Threats” and the First Amendment

In the Supreme Court’s Virginia v. Black case addressing the question of true threats, it used some language that supports Elonis’s position. It said that “[i]ntimidation in the constitutionally proscribable sense of the word is a type of true threat, where a speaker directs a threat to a person or group of persons with the intent of placing the victim in fear of bodily harm or death.” (emphasis added) The Justices also rejected a jury instruction that would have allowed the jurors to infer an intent to intimidate solely on the basis of the fact that the defendant burned a cross.

Once we understand that a threat is essentially a bad act rather than a failed attempt at completing a different bad act (i.e. the threatened behavior), it makes little sense to have responsibility turn on what the actor’s real purpose was in uttering the words that he or she uttered. One could certainly rank the threatening words as more or less culpable, depending on the speaker’s intentions, just as we rank intentional murder more seriously than negligent homicide. But some criminal responsibility—and the corresponding exception to the First Amendment protection for free speech—ought to match up with the harmfulness of the conduct.

It is also important to remember that in 2009, Congress passed, and President Obama signed, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, expanding the federal definition of hate crimes, enhancing the legal toolkit available to prosecutors, and increasing the ability of federal law enforcement to support our state and local partners.

  the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act

  This law removed then existing jurisdictional obstacles to prosecutions of a certain race- and religion-motivated violence.,, and added new federal protections against crimes based on gender, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation.  Before the Civil Rights Division prosecutes a hate crime, the Attorney General or someone the Attorney General designates must certify, in writing, that (1) the state does not have jurisdiction; (2) the state has requested that the federal government assume jurisdiction; (3) the verdict or sentence obtained pursuant to state charges did not demonstratively vindicate the federal interest in eradicating bias-motivated violence; or (4) a prosecution by the United States is in the public interest and necessary to secure substantial justice.  In the seven years since the passage of the Shepard-Byrd Act, the Justice Department has charged 72 defendants and convicted 45 defendants under this statute.  In total, as of July 15, 2016, the department has charged 258 defendants for hate crimes under multiple statutes over the last seven years.

By going through reports on the Supreme Court’s cases and the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act I couldn’t find anything which would suggest that hate speech should lead to “imminent” harm. Instead, the Supreme Court made very clear that as long as there is a good reason to think that potentially harm could be done is good enough to qualify it as a crime.

But the ultimate question is not whether Santa Clara University law professor’s interpretation is grossly misleading.

The question I would like to ask is why legal actions were not taken against Donald Trump despite a numerous and well recorded factual evidence lead to only one logical conclusion.

Donald Trump might have breached the US laws by delivering a number of hate speeches that could possibly be the reason why there is a spike in hate crimes.

When laws do not apply equally, chances to create inclusive society vanish. Lack of equality before the law also establishes a dangerous precident. When a crime is left unpunished it legitimizes the crime.

It also revokes the “license” for such society to be called “the land of free”. Because freedom without the order and equal rights is not a freedom. It is chaos.

    HATE SPEECH: The Supreme Court on “True Threats” and the First Amendment Quality of life is dependent on the effectiveness of order in the society. If rules promote mutual respect and equality before the law, it creates an inclusive society and significantly reduces hate crimes statistics.

[kj1966-blog]

DONALD TRUMP IS DUMB? Book: WH Staffers Thought Little Of President Donald Trump’s Intellect. Morning Joe. MSNBC Everything happens for a reason. Although it is unclear what is the reason for the United States to end up with the illiterate president?

[kj1966-blog]

STUPIDITY IS DANGEROUS: AM Joy MSNBC Today 12/31/17 DONALD TRUMP Proverbs and Sayings are the best highlights of wisdom accumulated by human race throughout its history.

[kj1966-blog]

DONALD TRUMP IS BEING GROOMED TO DESTROY THE COUNTRY: MSNBC News The American society is in real danger. And as crazy as it might sound, the danger comes from the US president.

[kj1966-blog]

Usually, people express their support for an individual and develop a friendship with those whom they have a lot in common.

It is also common that people would try to stay away from someone who has a shady reputation because any association with such person may affect their reputation.

The latest report by Politico shows clearly that when people support a person who has no moral compass, a liar, it only means that such people are no different from him or her.

    Today it is not possible to miss information on major political events or public personas. It is virtually impossible to miss a new piece of information if such persona is Donald Trump.

Due to Trump’s numerous false statements, it was clear from the very beginning that Trump is someone who cannot be trusted.

Although it is not an excuse, the fact that Donald Trump was elected as the US president could be explained. People were confused and frustrated as they couldn’t explain why living standards continued to deteriorate.

But after 11 months of Trump’s presidency, even that frustration stepped aside for most of those who voted for him.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

By now it is impossible to continue supporting Donald Trump unless those still support him do associate themselves with him – a person with no moral compass and a liar.

      The US society has to do a major “spring cleaning”. It is not a choice but rather the obligation of the American people.

Due to the status of the United States, both politically and economically, it is not just unfair to hold the entire world hostage. It is irresponsible.

      THE U.S. SOCIETY NEEDS A MAJOR “SPRING CLEANING” Usually, people express their support for an individual and develop a friendship with those whom they have a lot in common.

[kj1966-blog]

The Institute of Taxation and Economics (ITEP) is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that provides timely, in-depth analyses on the effects of federal, state, and local tax policies.

ITEP published a report titled “The Final Trump-GOP Tax Plan: National and 50-State Estimates for 2019 & 2027” whereby it highlights that the Republicans final tax bill would provide most of its benefits to high-income households and foreign investors while raising taxes on many low- and middle-income Americans. The bill would go into effect in 2018 but the provisions directly affecting families and individuals would all expire after 2025, with the exception of one provision that would raise their taxes.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

According to ITEP, in 2019, the bottom three-fifths of Americans will receive smaller average tax cuts, as a share of income, than other groups. In 2027 the bottom three-fifths of Americans will see tax hikes, on average, while the typical households in one of the other groups will continue to receive tax cuts, albeit smaller ones.

The report shows that in 2019, the average impact for the middle-fifth of taxpayers will be a tax cut of $800. The richest one percent of taxpayers will receive an average tax cut of more than $55,000. The average tax cut for richest one percent in 2019 will be larger than the average income for the middle-fifth of taxpayers, which will be about $53,000 that year.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Chicago Tribune reports that the bill was supposed to deliver benefits predominantly to average working families, not corporations, with a 35% tax cut Trump proposed on the campaign trail as part of the “Middle-Class Tax Relief and Simplification Act.”

“The largest tax reductions are for the middle class, who have been forgotten,” Trump said in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 22, 2016.

According to Bloomberg, middle-income groups will get a tax cut although some individual households will likely pay higher taxes because of provisions that include the elimination of personal exemptions and a limit on state and local tax deductions.

Bloomberg confirms that the greatest benefit is for corporations. The corporate rate cut will cost $1.35 trillion over the next 10 years, according to Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation. That’s more than the estimated $1.2 trillion from individual rate cuts. Moreover, the plan’s corporate tax cuts are permanent. Most individual changes — including those for owners of pass-through businesses — expire after 2025. One change that won’t go away: The bill imposes a new annual adjustment mechanism that will push Americans into higher tax brackets more rapidly.

Los Angeles Times highlights that generous tax cuts for the wealthy, including a reduction of the top individual tax rate. More modest cuts for anyone who makes less than $200,000 or so.

It is still difficult to explain why people who voted for Donald Trump thought that he could improve their financial positions.

A person who lies all the time cannot be trusted.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

  A PERSON WHO LIES ALL THE TIME CANNOT BE TRUSTED: Analysis of ITEP Shows That The Republican Tax Bill Provides Most of Its Benefits to High-Income Households & Foreign Investors The Institute of Taxation and Economics (ITEP) is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that provides timely, in-depth analyses on the effects of federal, state, and local tax policies.

[kj1966-blog]

DONALD TRUMP IS THE BENCHMARK FOR LIARS: New York Times Published List of Lies Which Donald Trump Has Told Since He Took Office DailyWire reported that New York Times columnist David Leonhardt tweeted out his take on President Trump’s penchant for untruth.

[kj1966-blog]

WHAT ELSE AMERICAN POLITICIANS NEED TO FINALLY START DOING THEIR JOB? CNN REPORTS THAT DONALD TRUMP AND DONALD TRUMP JR WERE IN COMMUNICATION WITH WIKILEAKS. Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr.

[kj1966-blog]

Freedom without order in place is no longer considered as freedom. It becomes a chaos.

Rules and regulations are paramount. Although to a certain extent they limit our ability to do what we want, nonetheless they play an important role in daily life by keeping us and other people safe.

Except some universal human rights (right to life, equality before the law) all other rights are conditional. In order for us to exercise our rights, we are required to conform to certain criteria.

For instance, while the right of travel is a fundamental right, the privilege to operate a motor vehicle can be conditionally granted based on being licensed and following certain rules. If rules are broken or laws are violated, the State reserves the right to restrict or revoke a person’s privilege.

Freedom of speech is one of the most important rights. In the United States, the First Amendment was established to help promote the free exchange of ideas and to provide a form of redress to citizens against their government. Additionally, the First Amendment seeks to protect unpopular forms of speech.

Nevertheless, the First Amendment puts some limitations to this right by stipulating clearly what forms of speech are not protected by it.

Even parental rights are not limits free. If it is established that the parent unfit, or he or she is not doing everything for the child within the family’s meals on a limited or low income, a person or both parents may be stripped from their parental rights?

Limitations imposed on our rights are necessary to ensure the balance of interests of all members of the society. The role of limitations is to ensure that mature, responsible attitude is being practised by all members of society.

The right of one person shall not adversely affect rights of others. These limitations allow maintaining harmonious coexistence.

However, except age limit and proof that a person is the citizen of the country, it appears that the right to vote is not subject to any limitations.

There is nothing which could ensure mature and responsible attitude despite the fact that irresponsible voters may cause a severe damage to the national security and/or put the entire world in danger.

What makes people reject facts and ignore logic? What makes them become irresponsible voters? One of the main factors is mass media.

Mass media is a very powerful tool that shapes up public opinion. Irresponsible reporting or intentional broadcast of false information is a recipe for disaster.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Freedom of the press is identical to freedom of speech under the law. But members of the media are subject to the same restrictions as members of the general public [source: Legal Information Institute].

In its ruling on the 1973 case of Miller v. California, the Supreme Court established the “Miller test” for deciding what types of material qualified as obscene [source: Cohen]. The material must be offensive to an average citizen applying “contemporary community standards” and have no redeeming “literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.”

Another limit on the press concerns speech designed to incite immediate violence or unlawful activity.

In the 1969 case Brandenburg v. Ohio, the court ruled that only speech that is “directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action” can be legally censored.

In an earlier decision, the Court ruled that speech that “inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace” has no social value and can be curtailed [source: Legal Information Institute].

But despite the fact that laws are clear, Fox, Fox News and Fox Business personalities (Fox) continue injecting toxins into people’s minds.

One of Fox “products” is Jeff Osia (you can find his profile on LinkedIn)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Polit Fact published scorecard showing the ratings for statements made on air by Fox and its pundit guests excluding statements made on air by politicians or paid spokespeople.

Recent statements made on FOX

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Considering that the lion share of information or statements aired by Fox is false, it poses a greater damage to the American society than reckless driving or any other offence as it distorts the reality and legitimizes ignorance.

Ultimately, Fox threatens the national security as its toxic strategy may trigger a chaos.

It is fair to say that among other factors, Trump’s victory was possible because of Fox. The damage of his presidency to the United States and the world is well documented.

Therefore, it is unclear why Fox is allowed to continue its destructive activity when effective legislation qualifies it as illegal?

It is known that the existing laws without enforcement become obsolete. It is also known that justice cannot be selective. Because selective justice is not justice.

Democracy requires maturity. Without it, democracy turns into something really ugly which terminates the future of any society.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

      OUR RIGHTS ARE NOT UNCONDITIONAL Freedom without order in place is no longer considered as freedom. It becomes a chaos. Rules and regulations are paramount.

[kj1966-blog]

Donald Trump’s announcement to recognize Jerusalem as a capital city of Israel is another blow to the national security and international stability.

The announcement was made for no specific reason. As it is believed that the United States is not getting anything out of it.

Former Ambassador Nicholas Burns said that the announcement is a major mistake and questions why it was necessary to do it now

Perhaps the surprising statement of Donald Trump that delivered no political value to the country whatsoever might be related to the progress of Ron=bert Mueller’s investigation. Possibly, it was a desperate attempt of Trump to deflect public attention.

Incidentally, Trump’s announcement came up shortly after his banking information has formally been turned over to Robert Mueller, the special prosecutor who is investigating whether the president’s campaign conspired with the Kremlin during the 2016 presidential election.

According to the Guardian, Deutsche Bank, the German bank that serves as Trump’s biggest lender, was forced to submit documents about its client relationship with the president and some of his family members, who are also Deutsche clients, after Mueller issued the bank with a subpoena for information, according to media reports. The news was first reported by Handelsblatt, the German newspaper.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Reuters reports that a U.S. official with knowledge of Mueller’s probe said one reason for the subpoenas was to find out whether Deutsche Bank may have sold some of Trump’s mortgage or other loans to Russian state development bank VEB or other Russian banks that now are under U.S. and the European Union sanctions.

According to Reuters, holding Trump debt, particularly if some of it was or is coming due, could potentially give Russian banks some leverage over Trump, especially if they are state-owned, said a second U.S. official familiar with Russian intelligence methods.

Reuters reports that another official, speaking on the conditions of anonymity said:“One obvious question is why Trump and those around him expressed interest in improving relations with Russia as a top foreign policy priority, and whether or not any personal considerations played any part in that.”

Perhaps the surprising statement of Donald Trump that delivered no political value to the country whatsoever might be related to the progress of Robert Mueller’s investigation. Possibly, it was a desperate attempt of Trump to deflect public attention.

There is no doubt that the official confirmation by the US that it recognizes Jerusalem as a capital city of Israel could dramatically deteriorate the relatively stable situation. I guess the idea that it his words potentially put lives of many people in danger, did not bother Donald Trump.

IS SURPRISING ANNOUNCEMENT OF TRUMP REGARDING RECOGNITION OF JERUSALEM AS A CAPITAL CITY OF ISRAEL ANOTHER DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO DEFLECT PUBIC ATTENTION? Donald Trump's announcement to recognize Jerusalem as a capital city of Israel is another blow to the national security and international stability.

[kj1966-blog]

MICHAEL FLYNN CHARGED WITH LYING: Flynn Will Reportedly Testify Trump ‘Directed Him’ to Contact Russia Obstruction may consist of any attempt to hinder the discovery, apprehension, conviction or punishment of anyone who has committed a crime.

[kj1966-blog]

WHEN LOGIC BECOMES SECONDARY, POSITIVITY GOES AWAY When logic becomes secondary, an ability to assess events objectively fades. As a result, people confuse reality with what they want to see.

[kj1966-blog]

Trust is very important in absolutely all aspects of life. It takes a considerable period of time to build trust but it could also be destroyed in a blink of an eye.

Trust issues always draw special attention when they are related to work relationship and may be a reason for employee suspension.

At the initial stage, loss trust is likely to involve going through a process of giving warnings and allowing an opportunity to an employee for improvement unless the behaviour is so serious that it amounts to gross misconduct.

Fox Williams explains that employers should consider suspending an employee only when:

• there is a potential threat to the business or other employees;

• it is impossible to properly investigate the allegation if an employee remains at work (for example because they may destroy evidence or attempt to influence witnesses); or

• relationships at work have broken down to such an extent that suspension is required,

When trust issues surface, the suspension applies not only to regular employees.

Following emissions scandal, Volkswagen suspended executives who were accused of masterminding the emissions scandal from the company’s headquarters in Wolfsburg and announced Matthias Mueller as new chief executive, who says his most urgent task is to win back trust following emissions scandal

The suspension was triggered by evidence that the chain of command of those involved in the rigging deception stretched all the way back from the US to VW’s home patch.

Let’s take a closer look at the Donald Trump’s world of madness

Just recently, Donald Trump retweeted propaganda video which resulted in worldwide condemnation. Trump’s reckless actions created a potential threat to the country and its citizens. Because groups of “special interest” on “both sides” will use Trump’s tweets as a booster.

Russia investigation is gaining speed. Being the President of the United States, Donald Trump has more than enough tools to destroy evidence or influence witnesses.

Despite his promises to drain the swamp, Donald Trump has created a toxic environment in DC which now requires his urgent suspension.

Logic suggests that if trust plays such important role in the relationship between employers and employees, it should be treated as a matter of the utmost importance when it is about actions of the President of the country.

Regardless of what is going on, the logic remains unchanged throughout millennia because it has never been and is still not regulated by the hypocrisy of some politicians.

Therefore, the logical question to ask is WHY DONALD TRUMP IS NOT SUSPENDED?

  WHY DONALD TRUMP IS NOT SUSPENDED? Trust is very important in absolutely all aspects of life. It takes a considerable period of time to build trust but it could also be destroyed in a blink of an eye.