At least 50 ISIS supporters work at Brussels airport with security badges and access to plane cockpits. Airport police say they'll go on strike if Belgium doesn't take airport security more seriously-Daily Mail

3/31/16, "At least FIFTY ISIS supporters are working as baggage handlers, cleaners and catering staff at Brussels airport, claim police," Daily Mail, By John Stevens Brussels Correspondent For The Daily Mail

"Police at Brussels airport have claimed at least 50 Islamic State supporters are working there as baggage handlers, cleaners and catering staff.

In an astonishing open letter, the officers said they have warned about the terrorist sympathisers whose security badges give them access to planes, but they remain employed.

The airport police, who are threatening to go on strike because of security deficiencies, also said they have raised the issue of terrorists scouting the airport to plan possible attacks.

The extraordinary claims come after the Mail reported how the family of two of the bombers involved in the attacks last week said they had worked as cleaners at the airport.

‘Some people suspected of having fought in Syria came to the airport as “false tourists”. We reported their presence but we do not know if anything was done with that information,’ the airport police wrote in their letter.

The officers said they had raised suspicions about certain staff members including those who apparently celebrated after the Paris attacks in November that killed 130 people.

‘When we checked these people, we were surprised more than once. It was men with a radical ideology and a long police history,’ the officers continued.

‘Even today, there are at least 50 supporters of the Islamic state who work at the airport. They have a security badge and have access to the cockpit of a plane.

‘In the past, a number of people had their badges revoked because they had IS sympathies. But clearly not everyone, especially in store personnel, cleaning services and baggage where we find the most suspicious people.’

Police raised concerns about inadequate security at the airport just four days before the attack took place.

The Belgian police union, NSPV, told the interior ministry on Friday 18 March that they would go on strike unless it was improved.

Alain Peeters, the general secretary, said: ‘The sad events of 22 March demonstrate that our concerns are justified. We demand more security and more staff.’

Officers have said that they will not return to work when the airport re-opens unless staffing numbers are increased and that no vehicles can approach within 100 metres of the temporary check-in hall that is being built.

The police have complained that they are not sufficiently resourced and do not have enough new uniforms to go around let alone the most up-to-date weapons.

An uncle of Ibrahim and Khalid el-Bakraoui last week told how the brothers had been employed at the airport and would have gained intimate knowledge of the terminal destroyed in the carnage.

The man, who asked not to be named, told the Mail: 'They worked cleaning at the airport and in a restaurant. They didn't finish high school in the end. They cleaned the airport in the summer months.'

Ibrahim, 29, and bomb-maker Najim Laachraoui detonated suitcase bombs in the airport. A third man, only known as ‘the man in the hat’ or ‘the man in white’ was also seen on airport CCTV but ran when his bomb failed to explode.

Khalid, 27, blew up a nail bomb on a Metro train at Maelbeek station shortly after the airport attack."

..............

US allows violence against reporters outside Brookings Institute, 3/31/16. Thugs of Turkey's Erdogan kicked a reporter, threw one to the sidewalk, called Wilson Center scholar a whore. No arrests made-DCist

Image caption, 3/31/16, "Erdogan's thugs attack reporters outside @BrookingsInst as Erdogan speaks inside." Mahir Zeynalov,
twitter, Huffington Post, Al Arabiya

3/31/16, "Photos: Turkish President's Visit To Brookings Turns Violent," DCist.com, Rachel Sadon

"Security for Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan clashed with protesters, journalists, Brookings staff, and D.C. Police this afternoon, as the violence outside the prominent think tank overshadowed his scheduled speech. 

Erdogan is in town for the Nuclear Security Summit, which is causing more traffic chaos than anything else thus far, and he met with Vice President Joe Biden earlier today. He was also due to give a 12:30 p.m. speech at Brookings on "global challenges and Turkey's goals for the year 2023." 

Supporters showed up with signs and flags to welcome him, while protesters came out with posters calling the Turkish president a war criminal, among other criticisms. 

Although Erdogan's address was being webcast, his security detail tried to bar multiple reporters from the event. 

A Wilson Center scholar and Turkish journalist tweeted that Erdogan's guards called her a "PKK whore." Others filmed Brookings staff working to protect journalists as the Turkish personnel tried to kick them out of the building. 

Foreign Policy reports that at least one reporter was removed from the site, a second was kicked by a guard, and a third thrown to the sidewalk outside the Brookings Institution. Turkish officials also demanded that police remove the protesters, which they declined to do.

"You're part of the problem, you guys need to control yourselves and let these people protest," a D.C. police officer told one of the Turkish guards, FP's Paul Mcleary reports.

No arrests have been made, according to a D.C. Police spokeswoman."



.................

Ted Cruz asks his donors to help pay debts incurred by Gov. Scott Walker in his failed presidential campaign-Dec. 2015, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Dec. 2015 article
..........

12/14/2015, "Ted Cruz solicits donations to pay off Scott Walker's campaign debt," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, by Mary Spicuzza

"They were rivals on the campaign trail, but now Sen. Ted Cruz is trying to help Gov. Scott Walker pay off the debt he accumulated during his failed presidential bid.

The Texas senator took to Twitter on Sunday to urge his followers to donate money to help retire Walker's lingering 2016 campaign debts.

"I stand with my friend @Scott Walker and hope you will too!" Cruz tweeted to his "#CruzCrew."

Cruz then linked to a donation page for Walker's campaign.

"Your contribution of $10, $35, $50, $100, $250, or more right now will help us pay down this campaign debt and officially close the books on our 2016 campaign," the website reads. "And if you contribute $30 or more in the next three days, we will send you a limited edition lapel pin."

The pin features the logo for Walker's presidential campaign, which he ended on Sept. 21 in the face of dwindling funds and dropping poll numbers.

After dropping out of the race, the Wisconsin governor has been soliciting contributions to pay off an estimated $1 million in debt. Campaign finance reports released in October showed his short-lived campaign raised $7.4 million but spent money as quickly as it came. Those reports showed the campaign burned through about $90,000 a day, in part due to salaries paid to a large staff.

The governor's campaign manager made more than $50,000 for 71 days of work, while Walker's sons, Matt and Alex, drew nearly $10,000 in salary between them over those 10 weeks.

Contributions to Walker's campaign peaked in July with $2.4 million but dropped by 50% in August, the month when he was deemed to have given a tepid performance in the first GOP debate.
..............
Walker has not yet made an endorsement in the 2016 Republican presidential race."

...............................

Added: Scott Walker endorses Cruz:

3/29/16, "Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker endorses Ted Cruz for president," Washington Post, Sean Sullivan and David Weigel





....................................

Ted Cruz and Paul Ryan pen Wall St. Journal op-ed urging 'fast track' trade authority to expedite 'historic' international trade deals, April 21, 2015, say TPA will send 'signal to the world' that 'US is trustworthy'

April 21, 2015 WSJ op-ed by Sen. Cruz and Rep. Ryan:

.................

(April 22, 2015, "Ted Cruz joins the establishment," The Hill, by Rick Manning)
..............

4/21/2015, "Putting Congress in Charge on Trade," Wall St. Journal op-ed by Paul Ryan and Ted Cruz. "Rep. Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin, is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Sen. Cruz, a Republican from Texas, heads the Senate Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness." (subscrip.) [In Oct. 2015, GOP Rep. Paul Ryan was elected House Speaker].

"‘Fast track’ authority will give lawmakers more say over agreements that are vital for economic growth."

"The United States is making headway on two historic trade agreements, one with 11 countries on the Pacific Rim and another with America’s friends in Europe. These two agreements alone would mean greater access to a billion customers for American manufacturers, farmers and ranchers.
But before the U.S. can complete the agreements, Congress needs to strengthen the country’s bargaining position by establishing trade-promotion authority, also known as TPA, which is an arrangement between Congress and the president for negotiating and considering trade agreements.

In short, TPA is what U.S. negotiators need to win a fair deal for the American worker.

There is a lot at stake. One in five American jobs depends on trade, and that share is only going to grow. Ninety-six percent of the world’s customers are outside the U.S. To create more jobs here, America needs to sell more goods and services over there. When that happens, the American worker benefits. Manufacturing jobs tied to trade pay 16% more on average, according to a study released by the independent U.S. International Trade Commission. 

Right now, though, the American worker isn’t competing on a level playing field against many overseas economies. The U.S. economy is one of the most open in the world—and for good reason. 

Thanks to lower duties on imports, the average American family saves $13,600 a year, according to a study by HSBC. But other countries put up trade barriers that drive up prices for U.S. goods and services and make it hard to sell them there.

The American worker can compete with anybody, if given a fair chance. If you add up all 20 countries that the U.S. has a trade agreement with, American manufacturers run a $50 billion trade surplus with them. The problem is that not all countries have a trade agreement with the U.S.; American manufacturers run a $500 billion trade deficit with those nations. That is why the U.S. needs effective trade agreements to lay down fair and strong rules that level the playing field. Without such rules, America’s trading partners will keep stacking the deck against job creators in this country.

But Congress can’t just take the administration’s word that it will drive a hard bargain. We have to hold it accountable, and that is what trade-promotion authority will help do. 

Under TPA, Congress lays out three basic requirements for the administration. First, it must pursue nearly 150 specific negotiating objectives, like beefing up protections for U.S. intellectual property or eliminating kickbacks for government-owned firms. Second, the administration must consult regularly with Congress and meet high transparency standards.

And third, before anything becomes law, Congress gets the final say. The Constitution vests all legislative power in Congress. So TPA makes it clear that Congress—and only Congress—can change U.S. law. If the administration meets all the requirements, Congress will give the agreement an up-or-down vote. But if the administration fails, Congress can hit the brakes, cancel the vote and stop the agreement.
 
Trade-promotion authority will hold the administration accountable both to Congress and to the American people. Under TPA, any member of Congress will be able to read the negotiating text. Any member will be able to get a briefing from the U.S. trade representative’s office on the status of the negotiations—at any time. Any member will get to be a part of negotiating rounds. And most important, TPA will require the administration to post the full text of the agreement at least 60 days before completing the deal, so the American people can read it themselves.

The stakes are high, because if you’re not moving forward in trade negotiations, you’re falling behind. In the first 10 years of this century, the countries of East Asia negotiated 48 trade agreements.

The U.S., on the other hand, negotiated just two in that region. As a result, America’s share of East Asia’s imports fell by 42%. Every top U.S. competitor did better—every one of them.

Meanwhile, China is negotiating agreements with anyone who will listen—from South Korea and Australia to Norway. And it isn’t free enterprise the Chinese are pushing. Instead, it is their own form of crony capitalism. They’re writing rules that favor government-owned firms and hamper American job creators. So it all comes down to this question: Is China going to write the rules of the global economy, or is the United States?

By establishing TPA, Congress will send a signal to the world. America’s trading partners will know that the U.S. is trustworthy and then put their best offers on the table. America’s rivals will know that the U.S. is serious and won’t abandon the field. And the American people will know this trade agreement is a good, fair deal—because they’ll have the information they need to decide for themselves. 

Promoting American trade will create more opportunity in the country, and so we strongly urge our colleagues in Congress to vote for trade-promotion authority."

"Rep. Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin, is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Sen. Cruz, a Republican from Texas, heads the Senate Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness."


......................... 

Added, 4/22/2015: "They treat the grass roots and the conservative base with contempt."...

4/22/2015, "Ted Cruz joins the establishment," The Hill, by Rick Manning, contributor

"Establishment, globalist advocates published what will go down as the most disingenuous, deceitful and outright dishonest promotional piece on behalf of the so-called fast-track trade authority that could have been written. 

Authored by establishment GOP Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and heretofore "conservative" Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the op-ed in The Wall Street Journal is a compilation of talking points and slick dodges. It is textbook propaganda that would make the disinformation experts of the KGB blush.

The dynamic duo start by asserting that the U.S. must "strengthen the country's bargaining position” by giving President Obama fast-track powers. Really? The GOP Congress thinks it is vital to our national interest to expand the powers in Obama's [and all future presidents'] hands? And, what exactly "strengthens" our bargaining power? So the only way to win a deal is by convincing foreign governments that the U.S. Congress will be limited in what it can say on the matter? Are we to tell the world that the people and their elected representatives will be sidelined so a "deal" can be done?         
Next, Ryan and Cruz assert that the American worker has been placed at a terrible disadvantage to workers in the rest of the world and that we have to give Obama more power in order to address this serious problem. But, of course, nowhere is there a mention of the fact that a big part of that "disadvantage" is currency manipulation and other financial gimmicks — issues that are expressly kept out of the trade deal. I guess nobody told these gentlemen that the primary weapon being used against American workers and business is not going to be discussed. Had they been allowed to read and review the so-called deal — the Trans-Pacific Partnership — they might have known that. But sadly, the Obama administration has kept the "deal" under lock and key — virtually nobody has been allowed to view it.

...................
But this is a minor matter compared to the bald-faced falsehoods that follow. The congressional odd couple assert that Congress will demand three things from Obama, three "requirements" that will protect the nation. In truth, all three are hollow shells; the tools of bait and switch that have used to con America in the past. And what are three shells of the con game?
...............
First, it asserted that there will be 150 "specific negotiating objectives." Sounds good, except these objectives are nothing more than suggestions. If Obama comes back with a treaty and none of these "objectives" are included, there is no effect. The treaty will still get the up-or-down vote. No amendments will be allowed to be offered. No two-thirds ratification vote in the Senate will occur. And of course, at that point, all the special interests — having been fed their fill — will demand passage. Are we to believe that Ryan and Cruz will vote against the treaty if the 150 "objectives" are not included? If that is the case, why do they not say so?
...................
Second, it is asserted that the administration would be required to "consult" with Congress over the course of final negotiations. This is the "kissing your sister" argument — no meaning and slightly discomforting.
............  
Finally, it is claimed that giving Obama [and future presidents] more power will enhance the power of Congress and thereby the American people. This is simply a lie. Under the authority Ryan and Cruz want to give the administration, the powers given Congress under the Constitution are suspended. No amendments are allowed. U.S. law will be subjugated to a treaty that can be passed by a simple majority in the two houses. 
............  
Hollywood and Wall Street will get what they want and the American taxpayers will be given the bill. So, gentlemen, how are the American people protected by suspending the Constitution? Is this the 2016 GOP platform — gather votes signing praises of the Constitution while moving to undercut and suspend it at will?
...............  
What is most troubling, however, is the disdain the advocates of this deal have for the American people. They babble on and on about abstract economic "benefits" when, in fact, trade is but a minor part of the matter. No less an authority than The Washington Post stated in an April 13 editorial that the treaty and fast track are "about geopolitics as well as economics."
................  
These treaties are in fact far more about "politics" than economics or trade. These treaties are world governance infrastructure; they are big steps away from the Constitution, national sovereignty and independence. All the trade talk, all the blather about jobs and the confusing stream of questionable statistics are designed to cover the real thrust of these treaties: the expansion of international and globalist interests.
................  
Why the GOP in Congress embraces the very process that would destroy it is a subject for another day, but it is enough to recognize that when they come to citizens begging for votes and donations claiming to defend the Constitution and our system of liberty, that they are being duplicitous Yet again, they treat the grass roots and the conservative base with contempt.
.................  
For Ryan to do this is expected, but Cruz's shilling for this big lie may be the last straw for those who became known as Tea Party supporters. The irony is that if they give up hope that America can be restored because they no longer have a champion, who is going to vote for Ted Cruz?

The answer is no one."
..............
"Manning is president of Americans for Limited Government"




.....................


 

The United States is making headway on two historic trade agreements, one with 11 countries on the Pacific Rim and another with America’s friends in Europe. These two agreements alone would mean greater access to a billion customers for American manufacturers, farmers and ranchers.
But before the U.S. can complete the agreements, Congress needs to strengthen the country’s bargaining position by establishing trade-promotion authority, also known as TPA, which is an arrangement between Congress and the president for negotiating and considering trade agreements. In short, TPA is what U.S. negotiators need to win a fair deal for the American worker.
- See more at: http://paulryan.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398270#sthash.dWsiPwGe.dpuf

Putting Congress in Charge on Trade

‘Fast track’ authority will give lawmakers more say over agreements that are vital for economic growth.

- See more at: http://paulryan.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398270#sthash.dWsiPwGe.dpuf

Chicago murder rate up 84% in 2016 to date over 2015. 125 murders, 575 shootings in 2016. Only 68 murders, 290 shootings in 2015. Third Chicago police chief in 4 months-BBC

3/30/16, "Eddie Johnson: Chicago new police chief to face 84% murder rate increase," BBC

"Chicago's troubled police force has a new boss, as new figures show the city's murder rate up 84% in the first months of 2016 compared with last year.

Police veteran Eddie Johnson, the new interim police chief, is the third superintendent to lead the department in less than four months.
...........  
He takes office following public anger over the shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald by a white officer.
..........  
However, violent crime is reportedly below levels of two decades ago.
...........  
According to the crime figures on the police department's website, there were 575 shootings and 125 murders in 2016 until 20 March. In the same period last year there were 290 shootings and 68 murders in the city, which has long been troubled by violence.
...........  
Despite the spike, this year's numbers are below those of the early 1990s, when Chicago faced a crack epidemic and the homicide rate was around 900, a report suggested.
.........  
Nevertheless, a group of churches celebrated that Easter Sunday saw no homicides in the city, with one religious leader calling it "an amazing gift".
..........  
Mr Johnson, a 55-year-old African-American who has been with the police for 27 years, replaces Garry McCarthy, who quit amid the furore surrounding the McDonald case.
...........  
The shooting sparked days of protests and led the US Justice Department to open an investigation into Chicago police shootings.
McDonald, who was 17 at the time, was armed with a knife when he was stopped by police in 2014. He was shot 16 times.
........  
Reacting to his nomination on Monday, Mr Johnson said he would address what he described as a trust issue.
.............  
"It is the central challenge facing Chicago today. I know that...trust has been broken too often, not just in Chicago but across America where abusive police practices have occurred," he told a news conference."






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National Border Patrol Council endorses Donald Trump for President, first time in history it has endorsed in a presidential primary. America deserves a leader who puts America first, current political establishment has bled this country dry-press release, 3/30/16

3/30/16, "National Border Patrol Council Endorses Donald Trump for President," bpunion.com, Tucson, Arizona

"The National Border Patrol Council is the official organization representing our nation’s Border Patrol Agents. We represent 16,500 agents who selflessly serve this country in an environment where our own political leaders try to keep us from doing our jobs. 

The NBPC has had a longstanding practice of not endorsing presidential candidates in the primaries. We will not, however, shy away from voicing our opinions as it pertains to border security and the men and women of the United States Border Patrol. As such, we are breaking with our past practice and giving our first-ever endorsement in a presidential primary. We think it is that important: if we do not secure our borders, American communities will continue to suffer at the hands of gangs, cartels and violent criminals preying on the innocent. The lives and security of the American people are at stake, and the National Border Patrol Council will not sit on the sidelines.

As an organization we expect our elected officials to aggressively pursue the interests of the country. America has already tried a young, articulate freshman senator who never created a job as an attorney and under whose watch criminal cartels have been given the freest border reign ever known.

Unlike his opponents, Donald Trump is not a career politician, he is an outsider who has created thousands of jobs, pledged to bring about aggressive pro-American change, and who is completely independent of special interests. We don't need a person who has the perfect Washington-approved tone, and certainly NOT another establishment politician in the W.H. Indeed, the fact that people are more upset about Mr. Trump’s tone than about the destruction wrought by open borders tells us everything we need to know about the corruption in Washington.

We need a person in the White House who doesn't fear the media, who doesn't embrace political correctness, who doesn't need the money, who is familiar with success, who won't bow to foreign dictators, who is pro-military and values law enforcement, and who is angry for America and NOT subservient to the interests of other nations. Donald Trump is such a man.

Mr. Trump is as bold and outspoken as other world leaders who put their country's interests ahead of all else. Americans deserve to benefit for once instead of always paying and apologizing. Our current political establishment has bled this country dry, sees their power evaporating, and isn't listening to voters who do all the heavy lifting. Trump is opposed by the established powers specifically because they know he is the only candidate who actually threatens the established powers that have betrayed this country.

You can judge a man by his opponents: all the people responsible for the problems plaguing America today are opposing Mr. Trump. 

It is those without political power – the workers, the law enforcement officers, the everyday families and community members – who are supporting Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump will take on special interests and embrace the ideas of rank-and-file Border Patrol agents rather than listening to the management yes-men who say whatever they are programmed to say. This is a refreshing change that we have not seen before – and may never see again.

Mr. Trump is correct when he says immigration wouldn’t be at the forefront of this presidential campaign if months ago he hadn’t made some bold and necessary statements. And when the withering media storm ensued he did not back down one iota. That tells you the measure of a man. When the so-called experts said he was too brash and outspoken, and that he would fade away, they were proven wrong. We are confident they will be proven wrong again in November when he becomes President of the United States.

There is no greater physical or economic threat to Americans today than our open border. And there is no greater political threat than the control of Washington by special interests. In view of these threats, the National Border Patrol Council endorses Donald J. Trump for President – and asks the American people to support Mr. Trump in his mission to finally secure the border of the United States of America, before it is too late."







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Facing widespread disapproval of liberal immigration policies at time of 2011 general elections, Singapore acted to protect native population. Highly Skilled Foreign workers now must be paid 11-20% higher salaries-Migration Policy Institute

2012 article

4/3/2012, "Rapid Growth in Singapore's Immigrant Population Brings Policy Challenges," Migration Policy Institute, Brenda Yeoh and Weiqiang Lin

(subhead) "Highly Skilled Foreign Labor"...

(parag. 7): "Around the time of the May 2011 general elections, the government of Singapore was facing widespread public disapproval of its liberal immigration policies for the highly skilled. This, coupled with difficult global economic conditions since the Great Recession, brought about a slight reversal of Singapore's policy stance towards skilled labor in the second half of 2011.

In two rounds of policy tightening with regards to employment pass and S-pass eligibility criteria between July 2011 and January 2012, it was decided that skilled foreigners must command 11 percent to 20 percent higher salaries before being granted the right to work in Singapore. And in December 2011, a provision allowing certain foreign-born professionals (those who possess or had possessed selected university degrees and/or skilled migrant visas for other countries) to apply for an employment pass eligibility certificate so that they could remain Singapore for up to a year to look for employment was also scrapped. As a result, foreign-born students in Singapore now have three months after graduation to land a job before having to return to their countries of origin. Additional measures to tighten the demand for S-pass workers are also expected to be phased in
between July 2012 and July 2013."...



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....................

Take A Dump On Mr. Trump-sign held by sophisticated anti-Trump protester at Trump rally in Janesville, Wisconsin, 3/29/16

3/29/15, "Crowds of protesters growing, chanting "I believe that we will win." #TrumpJanesville," from Molly Beck twitter. The enthralled Ms. Beck is a Capitol reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal






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Tajikistan will install cameras and metal detectors in mosques after top government official defects to ISIS-AFP

3/29/16, "Tajikistan to install metal detectors, cameras in mosques," AFP via Daily Star, Lebanon, Dushanbe, Tajikistan

"Ex-Soviet Tajikistan said Tuesday it plans to install metal detectors and surveillance cameras in more than 70 mosques in the capital Dushanbe over government fears of extremist attacks.

A spokesman for Dushanbe's city administration told AFP the measure was meant to "guarantee security and order while preventing the emergence of undesirable trends".

The equipment will be installed at the expense of the mosques and their congregations, the spokesman explained.

The secular government of this Central Asian country, which looks to former master Russia for security guarantees, is renowned for its anti-Islamic rhetoric and policies.

The government is currently trying members of the opposition Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) on an array of charges including attempting to overthrow the constitutional order and organizing a criminal group.

Authorities have accused party members of fanning a wave of unrest that killed dozens of people last year.

A number of international organisations and Western countries have raised concerns that Tajikistan is using the threat of international terror as a pretext to clamp down on the opposition.

The Tajik parliament in January voted to ban "foreign names" for babies as the popularity of Arabic names in the Persian-speaking country has grown.

Tajikistan says more than a thousand of its citizens are fighting in the ranks of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, including women and children. The interior ministry's special forces chief last year made a shock defection to ISIS and appeared in a propaganda video criticizing the government's harsh anti-Islam policies." image of Tajikistan on global map, wikipedia

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Trucks easily cut through cheap fencing on US southern border with Mexico. No agents were nearby to check contents of trucks. Currently short 1000 needed border agents-Arizona Public Media, 3/29/16

3/29/16, "Union: Border Fence Breach Raises Terrorist Worries," Arizona Public Media, Nancy Montoya

"Threats of more terrorist attacks are sparking debate on security vulnerabilities on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Brandon Judd, the head of the National Border Patrol Council, a union that represents 16,000 Border Patrol agents, testified last week at a congressional hearing. 

He said that an email from an agent in Arizona cited a 10-mile remote stretch of the border where smugglers cut the fence and drove two trucks through. Cameras caught the activity, 

but agents weren’t close enough to investigate.
 
"The scariest part is that we don’t know what was in those vehicles,” Judd said. 

No terrorist activities in the U.S. have been traced specifically to people who crossed into the country illegally from Mexico. 

Judd said, however, the number of illegal border crossings through Mexico from Pakistan is expected to more than triple this year.

“Those numbers should alarm everyone and we are seeing a similar trend from other key countries like Bangladesh, Albania and Brazil,” Judd said. 

Customs and Border Protection is more than 1,000 agents short of what it is authorized to have."


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

Comment: "Congressional hearings" on this matter are a joke and should be cancelled. The globalist US political class would be happy if trucks full of contraband streamed into the US 24/7. Unfortunately for the rest of us, "A nation without borders is not a nation." Donald J. Trump 

The Wall St. Journal has been calling for open borders since at least 1984:

7/3/1984, "In Praise of Huddled Masses," Wall St. Journal Editorial

"If Washington still wants to "do something" about immigration, we propose a five-word constitutional amendment: There shall be open borders."...

......................

Added, from Peggy Noonan, 3/24/16: Islamic terrorism won't be defeated because political elites insist on open borders:

3/24/16, "How to Defeat Radical Jihadism," Peggy Noonan, Wall St. Journal, opinion (subscrip)

"It will require Western elites to form an alliance with the citizens they've long disrespected."

"These things are obvious after the Brussels bombings: In striking at the political heart of Europe, home of the European Union, the ISIS jihadists were delivering a message: They will not be stopped....

Radical jihadism is not going to go away, not for a long time, probably decades. For 15 years it has in significant ways shaped our lives, and it will shape our children’s too....

The usual glib talk of politicians—calls for unity, vows that we will not give in to fear—will produce in the future what they’ve produced in the past: nothing....

Let’s say only 10% of the 1.6 billion harbor feelings of grievance toward “the West,” or desire to expunge the infidel, or hope to re-establish the caliphate. That 10% is 160 million people. Let’s say of that group only 10% would be inclined toward jihad. That’s 16 million. Assume that of that group only 10% really means it—would really become jihadis or give them aid and sustenance. That’s 1.6 million. That is a lot of ferociousness in an age of increasingly available weapons, including the chemical, biological and nuclear sort....We must absorb that central fact.... 

The “they” is radical Islamic jihadism. Normal people have seen that a long time, but the leaders of the West-its political class, media powers and opinion shapers-have had a hard time coming to terms....They cast about-if only we give young Islamist men jobs programs or social integration schemes, we can stop this trouble. But jihadists don’t want to be integrated. They want trouble....

On April 28, 2010, in Rochdale, England, Britain’s then prime minister accidentally performed a great public service by revealing what liberal Western leaders think of their people. 

At a campaign stop a 65-year-old woman named Gillian Duffy approached him and shared her concerns regarding crime, taxes and immigration. Mr. Brown made a great show of friendliness and appreciation. Then, still wearing a live mic, he got into his Jaguar, complained to his aides about “that woman” and said, “She’s just a sort of bigoted woman who said she used to be Labour.”

That was the authentic sound of the Western elite....The elites have for a long time enjoyed nothing more than sneering at the anger and “racism” of their own people. They do not have the wisdom to understand that if they convincingly attempted to protect the people and respected their anxieties, the people would feel far less rage.... 

Republican operatives and elected officials in the U.S. don’t want to change their stand on illegal immigration, and a key reason is pride. They’re stiff-necked, convinced of their own higher moral thinking, and they will have open borders—which they do not call “open borders” but “comprehensive immigration reform,” which includes border-control mechanisms. But they’ll never get to the mechanisms. They see the rise of Donald Trump and know it has something to do with immigration, but—they can’t bow. Some months ago I spoke to an admirable conservative group and said the leaders of the GOP should change their stand. I saw one of their leaders wince, as if I had made a faux pas. Which, I understood, I had. I understood too that terrorism is only making the border issue worse, and something’s got to give.

But I doubt they can change."...

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Among comments to Peggy Noonan article:

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"Jeff Boone The top-end strategy of radical Islam relies on Western liberal ideology. Without it, radical Islam would be significantly weaker."

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Trump: 3 basic principles about US borders:
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8/16/15, "Immigration Reform That Will Make America Great Again," Donald J. Trump

"The three core principles of Donald J. Trump's immigration plan"
 
"When politicians talk about “immigration reform” they mean: amnesty, cheap labor and open borders. The Schumer-Rubio immigration bill was nothing more than a giveaway to the corporate patrons who run both parties.

Real immigration reform puts the needs of working people first-not wealthy globetrotting donors. We are the only country in the world whose immigration system puts the needs of other nations ahead of our own. That must change. Here are the three core principles of real immigration reform:

1. A nation without borders is not a nation. There must be a wall across the southern border.
2. A nation without laws is not a nation. Laws passed in accordance with our Constitutional system of government must be enforced.
3. A nation that does not serve its own citizens is not a nation. Any immigration plan must improve jobs, wages and security for all Americans."...

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13 Detroit Public School officials charged with taking bribes 2002-2015. One implicated is principal of school recently tapped by Ellen DeGeneres to receive half million dollars in donations for supplies and repairs-CNN

3/29/16, "Bribery charges against 13 Detroit principals a 'punch in the gut'," CNN, Dana Ford
............ 
"Thirteen current or former principals with the Detroit Public Schools system were charged with bribery Tuesday in an alleged kickback scheme, which couldn't have come at a worse time for the troubled school district.
 

In addition, a DPS vendor--identified as Norman Shy, 74, owner of Allstate Sales--was charged. He is accused of being at the center of the criminal activity.

Authorities say the scheme basically boiled down to this: Shy paid bribes and kickbacks to principals so they would allow their schools to be charged for supplies that were never delivered. ...........

Chairs. Teaching materials. Paper. The very things that students need to learn and schools need to function remained, frustratingly, out of reach.
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But at the same time the school district cried poor, principals are accused of having lined their personal pockets.   
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"To hear this is just another slap in the face," DPS parent John Wills told CNN affiliate WDIV. "We've been robbed blind." ...........

Shy allegedly paid the principals a total of $900,000. In exchange, he received payments from the school system for $5 million, of which officials believe $2.7 million was fraudulent.  ............

The bribery is said to have started in 2002 and continued until January 2015.  
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"The real victims in a case like this, of course, are the students and the families who attend Detroit Public Schools -- the teachers, the educators who really want to make a difference in the lives of Detroit Public School children," said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara McQuade.  
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"A case like this is a real punch in the gut for those who are trying to do the right thing."  
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Of the 13 Detroit Public School officials charged, seven are former school principals; six are still working in that capacity.
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One of the former principals is now an assistant superintendent.

Included among those implicated is Ronald Alexander, principal of Spain Elementary-Middle School. His alleged involvement is notable because the school was recently tapped by Ellen DeGeneres to receive half a million dollars in donations. ............

The talk show host announced that the Lowe's chain of home-improvement stores would donate $500,000 toward repairing the school, including $50,000 in new computers and a $100 Visa gift card to every teacher and staff member.

CNN toured Spain Elementary-Middle School before DeGeneres stepped in, and to say the conditions there were lacking is an understatement.
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Children played in the hallway because the gym floor was warped from rain damage and torn up on one side. Clouds of steam poured into the playground, making that area unsafe, too. ...........

One teacher complained of mice, roaches and bedbugs. The school nurse considered the impact on students' health, saying dry air in the building and changes in temperature were making the students sick.  
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"I cannot overstate the outrage that I feel about the conduct that these DPS employees engaged in that led to these charges," Detroit Public Schools Transition Manager Judge Steven Rhodes said in a statement Tuesday, after the charges against the principals were made public....  
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He announced a series of immediate changes to help ensure that such conduct is not repeated. They include the suspension of all purchases by individual schools, a review of all school-based vendor contracts and the recruitment of an independent auditor. Detroit Public Schools suspended business with Shy and all of his companies.

...............

McQuade recognized during her news conference that accusations of public corruption never come at a good time. Still, it's coming at a particularly bad time for Detroit Public Schools. In addition to dealing with poor conditions at its schools, the system is hundreds of millions of dollars in debt and being sued by the union.

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This month, there were threats of a sickout. Although it didn't materialize, a sickout is a way for teachers to protest working conditions, dilapidated facilities and inadequate funding....The school system was previously under the supervision of an emergency manager appointed by (Michigan Gov.) Snyder, Darnell Earley.

Earley, who was also Flint's emergency manager from 2013 to 2015, resigned last month.
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McQuade said Tuesday that if there is a message to be taken from the kickback case, she hopes it will be one of accountability."...


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Ed. note: Please excuse gaps between paragraphs. Google dislikes free speech.


 

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Thousands in line to hear Donald Trump in Janesville, Wisconsin, Tues., March 29, 2016

3/29/16, "THOUSANDS line up to hear @realDonaldTrump in #Janesville," Andrew Marcus twitter," from Janesville, Wisconsin, Tues., March 29. Event began at 3pm Central, (5pm ET)

Above, Janesville, Wisconsin is in Rock County



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US World War I song 'Over There' told Americans they should be proud to fight and die in endless foreign wars: 'Send the word to beware over there! The Yanks are coming!' Reaffirmed in early WWII 1942 movie, Yankee Doodle Dandy. In 2016, Americans tired of being volunteered for endless foreign wars seek to focus on their own country 1st

"Over There," was written by George M. Cohan in 1917 after hearing the US was going to fight a war in Europe, known now as World War I. Mr. Cohan thought it was deeply patriotic for Americans to cross the Atlantic Ocean to fight, die, and ask nothing in return. The song earned Mr. Cohan a Congressional Gold Medal in 1936.  In 1942, this view of America's global duty was further immortalized in the movie, Yankee Doodle Dandy. Above excerpt of  'Over There' lyrics from You Tube.

  Above, Cagney sings, "the Yanks are coming," with US soldiers in the movie, "Yankee Doodle Dandy," 1942

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May 2011 article, song, "Over There" intended to instill American pride in fighting a foreign war:

5/25/2011, "Over There, Over There, Send the Word, Send the Word To Beware," Huffington Post, Norman Horowitz

"These are some of the words to the George M Cohan song published in 1917. The very patriotic song was written, I expect, to instill pride in a nation that was going to war by joining the fight in Europe....

Ninety years ago, it seemed like a good idea to fight and die “over there.”"...

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3/2016, ""Over There,"" about.com, Jennifer Rosenberg
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"A Famous Song of World War I"...

 
""Over There" was an instant success, selling over two million copies by the end of the war. Perhaps the most popular version of "Over There" was sung by Nora Bayes, but Enrico Caruso and Billy Murray also sang beautiful renditions.

The song "Over There" is about the "Yanks" (i.e. Americans) going "over there" (i.e. across the Atlantic) to help fight the "Huns" (i.e. the Germans) during World War I.

In 1936, Cohan was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for writing the song."...

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Comment: The idea that Americans might be allowed to care first about their own country has been considered scandalous. The notion of US as global fixer is enslavement of Americans.

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Trump:

"“We will not be ripped off anymore. We’re going to be friendly with everybody, but we’re not going to be taken advantage of by anybody.” Donald J. Trump, whose view of the world is “America First.” Read the edited transcript or just the highlights.

3/26/16, "In Donald Trump’s Worldview, America Comes First, and Everybody Else Pays," NY Times, by David E. Sanger and Maggie Haberman  (March 27, 2016 print ed., page A1, New York edition with the headline: FOREIGN POLICY, IN TRUMP’S VIEW, IS ABOUT DEALS.")

(parag 9): "Mr. Trump’s views, as he explained them, fit nowhere into the recent history of the Republican Party: He is not in the internationalist camp of President George Bush, nor does he favor President George W. Bush’s call to make it the United States’ mission to spread democracy around the world. He agreed with a suggestion that his ideas might be summed up as “America First.”

“Not isolationist, but I am America First,” he said. “I like the expression.” He said he was willing to reconsider traditional American alliances if partners were not willing to pay, in cash or troop commitments, for the presence of American forces around the world. “We will not be ripped off anymore,” he said."...

(parag. 1): "Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner, said that if elected, he might halt purchases of oil from Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies unless they commit ground troops to the fight against the Islamic State or “substantially reimburse” the United States for combating the militant group, which threatens their stability. 

“If Saudi Arabia was without the cloak of American protection,” Mr. Trump said during a 100-minute interview on foreign policy, spread over two phone calls on Friday, “I don’t think it would be around.”

He also said he would be open to allowing Japan and South Korea to build their own nuclear arsenals rather than depend on the American nuclear umbrella for their protection against North Korea and China. If the United States “keeps on its path, its current path of weakness, they’re going to want to have that anyway, with or without me discussing it,” Mr. Trump said.

And he said he would be willing to withdraw United States forces from both Japan and South Korea if they did not substantially increase their contributions to the costs of housing and feeding those troops. “Not happily, but the answer is yes,” he said."...

(parag. 7): "Mr. Trump struck similar themes when he discussed the future of NATO, which he called “unfair, economically, to us,” and said he was open to an alternative organization focused on counterterrorism. He argued that the best way to halt China’s placement of military airfields and antiaircraft batteries on reclaimed islands in the South China Sea was to threaten its access to American markets."...

(parag. 25): "Throughout the two conversations, Mr. Trump painted a bleak picture of the United States as a diminished force in the world, an opinion he has held since the late 1980s, when he placed ads in The New York Times and other newspapers calling for Japan and Saudi Arabia to spend more money on their own defense."...

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Added: Trump views observed in August and Sept. 2015 articles by Diana West and Julius Krein:

Krein: "Trump shows that what is most in demand...is not ideological purity but patriotic zeal....Trump alone appears to understand that politics is more than policy and ideology."... 

8/18/2015, "Trump: Giving Voice to the American "Subconscious"," Diana West

"To say the Media-Political Complex has really lost its cool over Donald Trump, also every marble, is barest understatement....

Before Trump, the American "subconscious," circa 2015, would never "originally think" a US border was possible, let alone a wall; immigration restriction was possible, let alone a halt; immigration law enforcement was possible; the deportation of illegal families was possible; restoration of American citizenship as a privilege, not a stolen good, was possible; jobs for Americans were possible; and the rest. Donald Trump, bless him, has changed the American subconscious, giving voice to Americans long conditioned into silence by this same Media-Political Complex. And there is nothing, but nothing, they can do about it now."
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Sept. 2015 Julius Krein article:

9/7/2015, "Traitor to His Class," Julius Krein, Weekly Standard

"What Trump offers is permission to conceive of an American interest as a national interest separate from the “international community”....

Nothing is more terrifying to the elite than Trump’s embrace of a tangible American nationalism....The critical question, however, is not the source of Trump’s popularity but rather the reason his popularity is so shocking to our political culture....

Trump shows that what is most in demand...is not ideological purity but patriotic zeal....

Trump alone appears to understand that politics is more than policy and ideology."...

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