REPORT REVEALS V.A. SPENT MILLIONS ON ART & SCULPTURES WHILE VETERANS DIED AWAITING CARE~OBAMA SPENDS $100 MILLION EVERY HOUR OF EVERY DAY

REPORT REVEALS V.A. SPENT MILLIONS ON ART & SCULPTURES WHILE VETERANS 

DIED AWAITING CARE

BY RAVEN CLABOUGH

SEE: http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/health-care/item/23748-report-reveals-va-spent-millions-on-art-while-veterans-died-awaiting-care; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

An oversight report by an independent taxpayer watchdog into the Veterans Affairs administration reveals more troubling information connected to the VA scandal, Fox News reports. According to the report's findings, the VA spent $20 million on artwork and sculptures and added nearly 40,000 new jobs, though just one in 11 were medical positions, all while more than a thousand veterans died awaiting medical care.

In 2014, the Veterans Administration became the subject of significant controversy after reports exposed that the Phoenix facility had been altering its scheduling books and that at least 40 veterans had died while awaiting care. Reports later revealed similar issues with lengthy waiting times in at least 10 states. Investigation into the Veterans Affairs wait-time scandal has revealed a number of startling revelations, including evidence of fraud and regulatory violations related to scheduling issues at over 50 VA medical facilities.

Multiple investigations ultimately found that more than 1,000 veterans have died while waiting to be seen by a doctor, and employees who dared to blow the whistle on conditions at the facilities have received retaliation while many of those responsible have virtually avoided punishment.

And just when it seems that the VA scandal has been fully explored and exposed, more disturbing revelations appear.

An oversight report by taxpayer watchdog group Open the Books and COX Media Washington, D.C., entitled “The VA Scandal Two Years Later,” reveals that while veterans had been waiting for care and facilities were altering its scheduling books to cover up the lengthy waiting lists, the VA was instead utilizing millions of dollars in financial resources to improve the artistic ambiance of its facilities, among other things.

The seven-page report is based on data obtained through Freedom of Information requests and examines the spending that took place at the VA during the same time period in which the VA has been accused of doctoring patient waiting times and allowing veterans to perish while they awaited care. The report reveals that an exorbitant amount of money was spent on artwork and sculptures, including at facilities wherein the patients were blind.

In an editorial for Forbes, Adam Andrzejewski, founder and CEO of Open the Books, draws attention to the report's findings:

In the now-infamous VA scandal of 2012-2015, the nation was appalled to learn that 1,000 veterans died while waiting to see a doctor. Tragically, many calls to the suicide assistance hotline were answered by voicemail. The health claim appeals process was known as "the hamster wheel" and the appointment books were cooked in seven of every ten clinics.

Yet, in the midst of these horrific failings the VA managed to spend $20 million on high-end art over the last ten years — with $16 million spent during the Obama years.

Items purchased by the VA included two sculptures costing $670,000, which were placed at the new Palo Alto Polytrauma and Blind Rehabilitation Center (shown).

“Blind veterans can’t see fancy sculptures, and all veterans would be happier if they could just see a doctor,” Andrzejewski opines.

The report primarily underscores that whatever the reason for the lengthy waiting times at VA facilities, it appears that it is not because of a lack of money.

The VA has in the past defended many purchases of art as being part of "healing gardens" to help soothe wounded soldiers to make them feel comfortable and heal.

The oversight report notes that during the same period of time on which the scandal is focused, nearly $100 billion in salaries and bonuses were paid out to just over 350,000 VA employees. Furthermore, the report found that between 2012 and 2015, the VA added 39,454 new positions to its payroll, of which just one in 11 were “medical officers,” also known as doctors.

Meanwhile, despite the attention that the scandal has received, 500,000 veterans remain on waiting lists for appointments.

Sadly, though the report was published in May of this year, it is only now getting some limited media attention.

_______________________________________________________

Under Barack Obama, National Debt Increases $100 Million Every Hour of Every Day

SEE: http://www.thenewamerican.com/economy/economics/item/23754-under-barack-obama-national-debt-increases-100-million-every-hour-of-every-day

DONALD TRUMP DELIVERS SCATHING RESPONSE TO HILLARY CLINTON & DNC

Donald Trump Delivers Scathing Response To Hillary Clinton, DNC at Press Conference 7/27/16

Streamed live on Jul 27, 2016

Wednesday, July 27, 2016: Full replay of Donald Trump's remarks at a press conference in Doral, FL at the Crystal Ballroom at Trump National Doral.

TRUMP SLAMS HILLARY DNC SPEECH: ‘CORRUPTION AND DEVASTATION 

FOLLOWS HER’

GOP Nominee's campaign denounces Clinton's “globalist agenda"

BY STEVE WATSON

SEE: http://www.infowars.com/trump-slams-hillary-dnc-speech-corruption-and-devastation-follows-her/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

GOP nominee Donald Trump immediately reacted to Hillary Clinton’s keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention Thursday night, sending out a series of scathing tweets, hitting her on her economic and foreign policies.

While Clinton referred to Trump several times during her speech, Trump slammed “Hillary’s refusal to mention radical Islam”said she is “owned by Wall Street” and declared that her vision of the future “is a borderless world where working people have no power, no jobs, no safety”.

Hillary will never reform Wall Street. She is owned by Wall Street!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2016

Hillary's vision is a borderless world where working people have no power, no jobs, no safety.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2016

Trump slammed Hillary for being soft on the threat of terrorism, noting that Americans’ “way of life is under threat by Radical Islam and Hillary Clinton cannot even bring herself to say the words.”

Hillary's refusal to mention Radical Islam, as she pushes a 550% increase in refugees, is more proof that she is unfit to lead the country.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2016

Our way of life is under threat by Radical Islam and Hillary Clinton cannot even bring herself to say the words.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2016

The GOP nominee also focused on Clinton’s hawkish nature and her role as Secretary of State, overseeing regime change in the Middle East.

“Hillary’s wars have unleashed destruction, terrorism and ISIS across the world.” Trump declared.

Hillary's wars in the Middle East have unleashed destruction, terrorism and ISIS across the world.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2016

In a final tweet, Trump urged that “no one has worse judgment than Hillary Clinton – corruption and devastation follows her wherever she goes.”

No one has worse judgement than Hillary Clinton – corruption and devastation follows her wherever she goes.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2016

Clinton referred to Trump during her speech, asking her supporters to “Imagine him in the Oval Office facing a real crisis… A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons.”

Trump’s senior policy adviser Stephen Miller also chimed in on Hillary’s speech, describing it as “an insulting collection of clichés and recycled rhetoric.”

“She spent the evening talking down to the American people she’s looked down on her whole life,” Miller said.

“Hillary Clinton says America is stronger together. But in Hillary Clinton’s America, millions of people are left out in the cold.” Miller added, also denouncing Hillary’s “globalist agenda” and saying her keynote address was “a speech delivered from a fantasy universe, not the reality we live in today”.

The Trump campaign also sent out 15 different email shots during Clinton’s hour long speech, all containing the opening line “Hillary’s With Us”, before hitting her on a range of topics.

Examples included “Hillary’s With Us … If You’re A Clinton Foundation Donor (Goldman Sachs Edition)” to “Hillary’s With Us … If You Break The Rules (Secret Server Edition).”

The emails all contained links to news reports and videos documenting Clinton’s involvement in scandals and controversy.

Meanwhile, leftist apologists for Clinton have accused Trump of ‘treason’ for saying that Russia should share Clinton’s 30,000 deleted emails.

“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” Trump said Wednesday, adding “I think you’ll be rewarded mightily by our press.”

The Trump campaign noted that it was laughable to suggest Trump should be charged for treason for pointing out that Clinton’s homemade server left classified material open to being hacked, while Hillary also illegally deleted the material after the FBI began investigating.

FETHULLAH GULEN, IMAM OF POCONO MOUNTAINS ISLAMIC CULT / TERROR HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT~TARGET: AMERICAN CHILDREN AT THEIR CHARTER SCHOOLS

SEE: http://pamelageller.com/2014/12/video-of-pennsylvania-muslim-cleric-fethullah-gulen-explode-yourselves-like-a-bomb-against-the-us.html/

Gülen: 'Explode yourselves like a bomb against the U.S.'

Published on Dec 22, 2014

A shocking audio record from 23 November 1979 of Fethullah Gülen has been found. Gülen was the subject of a recent arrest warrant for founding and managing a terror organization and is expected to be requested for extraction from the U.S.

In the audio record, Gülen makes a call for terror about Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque, and urges Muslims to use violence against the U.S. and non-muslims in a speech given in Bornova Mosque, Izmir.

TERROR HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT~

TARGET: AMERICAN CHILDREN

By Debra Rae
July 30, 2016
NewsWithViews.com

Target: Innocent Children

Events surrounding the July 2016 coup in Turkey befuddle onlookers.[1] In its wake, thousands of political enemies to Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erodgen were arrested or purged, and public sector employees were prevented from exiting the country. Erodgen opportunistically declared a state of emergency, thereby facilitating heavy-handed authoritarian rule.[2]

Straightaway Erodgen fingered Fethullah Gülen[3] as the coup’s mastermind. At the time, Gülen’s followers held important positions within judicial, military, and political spheres.[4] Called the “Parallel State” by President Erodgen, the Gülen (Hiznet) Movement[5] has spurred controversy for years. Some even credit Gülen with “running Turkey” from the Poconos.

An Internet web cam preacher, this self-proclaimed “living prophet” is said by many to be a moderate-progressive advocate for tolerance and interfaith dialogue, yet Erodgen alleges Gülen orchestrated the coup from self-imposed exile within the guarded, gated compound of a small Pennsylvania town in the Poconos Mountains.

Fetullah Gülen: Recluse Humanitarian and Scapegoat, or Radical Revolutionary?
Ostensibly to fight “poverty, disunity, and ignorance” under leadership of their esteemed imam, several hundreds of followers live with Gülen at the Golden Generation Worship and Retreat Center in the Poconos. While advocates laud Gülen as a charismatic cleric, scholar, and humanitarian, others label the imam and his five million devotees a “sect” or “cult.”

United by faith, Gülen and Erdogan were one-time allies—this, during the rise of Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP). After assuming power (2002), Erdogan protected Gülen's opaque businesses, but no longer. Today the two luminaries purportedly disdain one another. Since 2013, when Erdogan closed Gülen’s tutoring centers, the Turkish government has scapegoated the movement for almost every tragedy, failure, and/or conflict in Turkey.

In the mean time, Foreign Policy magazine distinguished Gülen as the world’s Top Public Intellectual (2008); thereafter, he received the New York-based EastWest Institute’s Peace Award (2011). In 2013, Gülen made it onto theTIME 100 List of the most influential people in the world. He was awarded the Gandhi-KingIkeda Award for peace (2015), has held court with the Pope, is praised by Bill Clinton, heartily endorsed by the CIA, and unquestioned by state and local school boards.[6] What’s not to like?

Here’s the rub. Countless observers, including the FBI, allege that Gülen’s “peace movement” needs to be taken seriously as a “radical threat.” Among America’s top experts on Turkey and the Middle East former CIA agent Graham Fuller takes exception. With Fuller’s endorsement, Fethullah Gülen gained access to our country, purportedly for needed healthcare. When asked by Erodgen to return Gülen to Turkey, Fuller responded, “no,” and President Obama agreed. Despite controversy associated with his namesake movement, Gülen had been awarded extended visa status.

Revolution Hidden in Plain Sight

The FBI determined Fethullah Gülen to be a “radical Islamist.” The network is outlawed in Russia and Uzbekistan, and it’s under investigation in the Netherlands. Yet friends of Gülen in Obama’s White House, the CIA, and Clinton’s State Department prevented the FBI from indicting and deporting Gu¨len.

This Turkey-indicted, exiled imam is credited with establishing a lucrative network of charter schools—by definition, deregulated, unaccountable, privately managed public schools that are partially funded by American taxpayers. Incredibly, Texans eschew Common Core, but nonetheless welcome fifty-two of Gülen’s madrasas. Ohio welcomes seventeen.

Critics contend that H-1B visas were designed for companies to employ highly skilled, temporary foreign workers in biotechnology, chemistry, engineering, and other specialized fields. In reality, no one applies for more H-1B visas than Fethullah Gülen, who’s bringing in large (and growing) numbers of Turkish teachers, K-12. The object, many contend, is to “force feed” American children “radical Islamic” educational programs and incentives.

Despite alleged immigration fraud—not to mention FBI raids, possible scandal involving a national Internet program, bribes, and kickbacks—some 155 Gülen charter schools in twenty-five states (and counting) cost American taxpayers about $150 million each year; plus, no deportations, nor arrests, have ensued. Sadly, this anomaly is in tenor with Brennan’s CIA, which openly supports public school Islamic indoctrination, as fundamentally developed by the George Soros-supported Center for American Progress and by Fethullah Gülen himself.[7]

Follow the Money Beyond Education

Gülen aims to reach all power centers. In Turkey, Gülen’s reach extended to his own newspapers, television stations, and banks. Worldwide, Gülen runs thousands of secular educational institutions, hospitals, dialogue centers, and relief programs. Impressively, one thousand Gülen schools in 180 countries educate over sixty thousand students (with thirty thousand on waiting lists). In Turkey, Gülen called his network of private schools/ tutoring and dormitories “houses of light.” The movement is known for violence abroad, yet Gülen Charter Schools in the United States are effectively disguised by similarly nondescript names—e.g., Concept, Horizon Science Academy, Paragon, Sonoran, LISA Academy, and Magnolia.

Gülen believes it’s sinful not to seek ways to acquire wealth.[8] Problem is, the source of his immense wealth is unclear. Partially supported by moneyed foundations (i.e., Gates, Dell, Walmart), Gülen Charter Schools naturally invite corruption and crony capitalism. American taxpayers likewise support salaries of Turkish teachers to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Disturbingly, their inflated incomes are skimmed twenty to forty percent. Kickbacks—i.e., mandated “tithes”—serve non-educational agendas abroad. Ostensibly, revolutionary interests have benefitted handsomely from the Gülen windfall.

Hijacking the Charter School Movement

Some contend that the charter school network is key to cherry picking underprivileged, and therefore easily molded, children for the express purpose of radicalization. So why would an exiled revolutionary imam be allowed to educate American school children at taxpayers’ expense? Why do overly compensated teachers from Turkey work without teaching licenses in public charter schools? And why, in some cases, are Turks imported into the States to teach (of all things) English?

One reason is that Newsweek voted two Harmony Schools among America’s Top Ten. American educators today tend to eliminate classroom competition in the name of egalitarianism. Deserving or not, all students get awards. In contrast, Gu¨len’s schools foster healthy competition for boys and girls alike. This policy appeals to ambitious parents who, to their credit, value healthy competition and measurable academic achievement.

Add to that Gülen’s emphasis on STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). Impressive Gülen initiated Science Fairs stair-step the profile of the Hiznet movement; however, it’s claimed, students merely showcase projects that adults craft.

Thirdly, practice of hands-on, guided discovery methodology inspires students, whose summer studies take them to the exotic shores of Turkey to experience Turkish nationalism and identity. Presently, a Congressional Investigation is underway on the ethics of public servants courted by the movement who enjoy similarly choice trips.

Empowered through Intimidation

Against recommendations of legal counsel, a specially convened internal committee, and district residents, the Islamic Cultural Association in Michigan benefitted from a quietly negotiated, no-bid, below-market sale of valuable Farmington Public Schools property. Why? Intimidation prompted the sale (Ann Arbor, MI, 10 August 2012).

Worthy of a Closer Look [9]

When even a hint of malfeasance, as demonstrated above, shadows the education of American school children, a closer look is warranted.[10] Risk-taking documentary filmmaker, award-winning producer/ director, and attorney Mark S. Hall apparently agrees. His recently released, feature-length documentary film, Killing Ed (2016), takes an in-depth, first-hand look at the Gülen Movement.[11] Too much is at stake to yawn in the face of anomalies associated with Fethullah Gülen and his furtive enterprises. Our kids deserve better.

© 2016 Debra Rae - All Rights Reserved

Footnotes:

1. Meira Svirsky and William Reed. “Did Erdogan Stage the Coup?” The Clarion Project: Challenging Extremism; Promoting Dialogue Wednesday, July 20, 2016. (Accessed 20 July 2016)2. According to a May poll of the Gezici Research Company, close to 1 in 5 Turks support the Islamic State, and over 23 percent are sympathizers. Furthermore, 60 percent of Turkey’s Syrian asylum seekers, fleeing Syrian head of state Bashar al-Assad, view ISIS as a sort of savior.3. Related:
* [VIDEO] Fethullah Gülen comments on rumors about the coup attempt in Turkey
* [VIDEO] Mr. Gülen calls for an international investigation of coup attempt in Turkey
* [VIDEO] Fethullah Gülen: No return from democracy (Remarks in 1994 & 2016)
* Fethullah Gulen issued the following statement on recent developments in Turkey
* Who is Fethullah Gulen, the man blamed for coup attempt in Turkey?
* Fethullah Gülen: Turkey coup may have been 'staged' by Erdogan regime
* Turkey Coup Attempt: Who is Fethullah Gülen, The Cleric Being Accused Of Orchestrating The Turmoil?
* Dialogue Platform’s Statement on Developments in Turkey
* Turkey Coup: Who Is Fethullah Gulen and Is He To Blame?4. When the Turkish president demanded extradition of Gülen, President Erdogan was accused of using the failed coup attempt to launch a far-reaching purge of his opponent, whom Secretary of State John Kerry characterized as a “peaceful” Muslim. (Turkish Minute, Tuesday, 19 July 2016).5. In research paper entitled Fethullah Gülen and His Liberal Turkish Islam Movement (2000) (MERIA Journal. V4, No:4), Aras and Caha conclude that, Gülen’s ideas are primarily drawn from Islamic sources to inspire a powerful civic/social movement, called Hizmet (popularly known as the Gülen movement). A Turkish word, Hizmet is derived from the Arabic-Persian word,Kihdmat, meaning “service.”6. http://hizmetmovement.blogspot.com (Accessed 20 July 2016)7. https://www.americanprogress.org (Accessed 20 July 2016)8. Turkey Pulse9. Diane Kepus. “Danger: Gülen Charter Schools and the Fethullah Gülen Movement,” Parts 1 & 2, NewsWithViews, May 21 & June 4, 2016.
10. Debra Rae. “Talking Turkey: Gülen Charter Schools in America,”TRUTHTalk Beyond the Sound Bite with Shahram Hadian, 2 August 2016.http://tobtr.com/8949099 [Access 2 August 2016, 3 PM (PT)/ 6PM (ET) & thereafter in the Archives]11. http://killinged.com (Accessed 20 July 2016).https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d8piSWX3kg (Accessed 20 July 2016). Further information on the Gülen Movement and its Schools:
Fethullah Gülen Historical Timeline by Prof. Joshua Hendrick
Fetullah Gülen Movement (AFPC World Almanac of Islamism)
Gülen Charter Schools Website (Anti-Gülen)
Fethullah Gülen’s Official Website
Harmony Public Schools (Texas)
Concept Schools (Ohio)
Magnolia Schools (California)

CLINTON VOWS AT DNC TO DEFEND HOMOSEXUALITY & ABORTION IF ELECTED PRESIDENT

HILLARY INVOKES GOD'S BLESSING

A VOTE FOR HER 

IS A VOTE FOR EVIL

CLINTON VOWS AT DNC TO DEFEND HOMOSEXUALITY & ABORTION 

IF ELECTED PRESIDENT

BY HEATHER CLARK

SEE: http://christiannews.net/2016/07/29/clinton-vows-at-dnc-to-defend-homosexuality-abortion-if-elected-president/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

PHILADELPHIA — During her speech on Thursday accepting the Democratic nomination for president of the United States, Hillary Clinton again vowed to defend homosexuality and abortion if elected.

“We will defend all our rights—civil rights, human rights and voting rights—women’s rights and workers’ rights—LGBT rights and the rights of people with disabilities!” she declared to those gathered and those watching around the world.

“If you believe that every man, woman, and child in America has the right to affordable health care, join us. If you believe that we should say ‘no’ to unfair trade deals, that we should stand up to China, that we should support our steelworkers and autoworkers and homegrown manufacturers, join us,” Clinton said during another portion of her speech.

“If you believe we should expand Social Security and protect a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions, join us,” she stated.

Clinton concluded her talk by noting that the world is watching, and wishing God’s blessing on her supporters and the nation.

“Yes, the world is watching what we do. Yes, America’s destiny is ours to choose,” she said. “So let’s be stronger together, my fellow Americans. Let’s look to the future with courage and confidence. Let’s build a better tomorrow for our beloved children and our beloved country. And when we do, America will be greater than ever.”

“Thank you and may God bless you and the United States of America!” Clinton declared.

Her daughter, Chelsea, had also referenced homosexuality and abortion during her introduction of her mother, drawing applause.

“So, this November, I’m voting for a woman who is my role model, as a mother, and as an advocate. A woman who has spent her entire life fighting for families and children,” she said. “I’m voting for the progressive, who will protect our planet from climate change and our communities from gun violence, who will reform our criminal justice system, and who knows that women’s rights are human rights.”

“And who knows that LGBT rights are human rights,” Chelsea Clinton continued.

As previously reported, Donald Trump likewise addressed homosexuality in his acceptance speech, telling those gathered that he would work to protect homosexuals if elected.

“As president, I will do everything in my power to protect LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology,” Trump declared, being met with applause.

“And, I have to say, as a Republican, it is so nice to hear you cheering for what I just said,” he said in response.

Both candidates have asserted that they are the best for the “LGBT community.”

FRANCE ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF NATIONAL GUARD AS STATE OF EMERGENCY CONTINUES

FRANCE ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF NATIONAL GUARD 

AS STATE OF EMERGENCY CONTINUES

Militarization turning France into autocratic police state

BY KURT NIMMO

SEE: http://www.infowars.com/france-announces-formation-of-national-guard-as-state-of-emergency-continues/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

The French government has moved to further militarize the country under an open-ended state of emergency following the latest terror attack.

In a statement released by the Elysee Palace on Thursday, the government announced a plan to form a national guard. “President of the Republic [Hollande] decided to establish the National Guard from the existing operating reserves,” the statement reads. Hollande said the government will “as soon as possible begin the establishment of this structure, which would serve to protect the French people.”

France to form National Guard to counter terrorist threat, Hollande says https://t.co/Bhn9eF9fY4pic.twitter.com/gDxqFZMWcS

— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) July 28, 2016

The Defense and Security Council will be officially notified of the plan in August and the national guard units will be formed in September, according to the statement.

The announcement arrives on the heels of a horrific attack and beheading of a priest at the Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray church in Normandy. Earlier this month, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel went on a rampage with a truck in Nice on Bastille Day, killing 84 people. In November, terrorists launched coordinated attacks in Paris, killing 130 people.

The attack in Nice prompted Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to call for “all willing French patriots” to sign up as reservists. Marine Le Pen, the National Front leader, demanded a return of compulsory national service.

Following the attack during the Bastille Day celebration, Hollande extended the state of emergency and added new measures. Police are permitted to search without a court warrant, detain children, seize data from computers and mobile phones, and to search luggage and vehicles without judicial approval.

National state of emergency extended by overwhelming vote in France https://t.co/COAnzeFPQApic.twitter.com/18ZdnLCID9

— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) July 22, 2016

Critics contend the measures will do nothing to prevent terrorism and are being used against political activists, for instance, environmental activists who were put under house arrest during the Paris climate summit in November.

In May, the law was used to ban activists from joining demonstrations against the government’s labor reform. The labor proposals touched off large demonstrations in the country.

It is not clear if the new French national guard will be used to enforce the state of emergency or will only be used following terrorist attacks.

According to Finian Cunningham, the French “trajectory in state power is in danger of becoming a self-reinforcing dynamic of increasing autocratic governance—dictatorship—where democracy, for all intents and purposes, ceases to exist. Even more disturbingly, this sinister watershed is hardly even questioned in public discourse…

“France is heading towards a militarized autocratic police state, not unlike Israel. Citizens are being conditioned to live permanently with fear and emergency powers that supplant democratic rights.”

Tough read, but necessary, @hrw on human rights at risk under the state of emergency in France:https://t.co/NMm9g7n7TU

— reported.ly (@reportedly) July 22, 2016

Earlier this week, Germany also signaled it will begin domestic militarization.

In the aftermath of the Munich attacks last week, Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper it “would be completely incomprehensible … if we had a terrorist situation like Brussels in Frankfurt, Stuttgart or Munich and we were not permitted to call in the well-trained forces of the Bundeswehr, even though they stand ready.”

Following WWII and the defeat of the Nazis, the German constitution forbade the military, known as the Bundeswehr, to be used domestically except in instances of national emergency.

The Greens and members of the Social Democratic Party warned against “domestic calls for more surveillance, isolation and military [intervention],” and added the Munich attack would be exploited politically.

The German government, however, had planned to lift restrictions on Bundeswehr prior to the Munich attack.

________________________________________________________

Boosted reservist force a 'National Guard' for France, says Hollande

DINESH D'SOUZA INTERVIEWED ABOUT HIS NEW BLOCKBUSTER FILM, "HILLARY'S AMERICA"~HILLARY'S HYENA LAUGHS

DINESH D'SOUZA INTERVIEWED ABOUT HIS NEW BLOCKBUSTER FILM, 

"HILLARY'S AMERICA"

Published on Jul 28, 2016

Dinesh D'Souza discusses the criminality of the Clinton family as well as his latest film which shows them for what they really are.

Censored Hillary Hyena Video

OBAMA RESTARTS MILITARIZATION OF LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

OBAMA RESTARTS MILITARIZATION 

OF LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

BY Joe Wolverton, II, J.D.

SEE: http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/crime/item/23743-obama-restarts-militarization-of-local-law-enforcement; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

In light of recent unrest, President Obama has decided to go back on his promise to halt the militarization of local law enforcement.

As reported this week by Tech Dirt:

The images of police greeting protesters with assault rifles, armored vehicles, grenade launchers, and officers who appeared to mistake the Midwest for downtown Kabul apparently was a bit too much. It looked more like an occupation than community-oriented policing — something every administration has paid lip service (and tax dollars) to over the past few decades while simultaneously handing out grants that turned police officers into warfighters.

Apparently, though, it isn’t so much the danger of looting, but the power of lobbying that brought about the president’s change of heart.

In an exclusive interview with two “police organization directors” — Jim Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, and Bill Johnson, executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations — Reuters reports that the law enforcement lobbyists met with the president and Vice President Joe Biden on July 11, three days after the tragic murder of five police officers in Dallas.

After the meeting, President Obama ordered the administration’s chief legal counsel to review the ban on the transfer of military materiel to police departments and other law-enforcement agencies that the president announced in May 2015.

While speaking at an event in Camden, New Jersey, on May 18, 2015, President Obama announced that in response to the riots in Ferguson, Missouri, the previous August, he was banning the sale of certain military equipment to local law enforcement. "We've seen how militarized gear can sometimes give people a feeling like they're an occupying force, as opposed to a force that's part of the community that's protecting them and serving them," Obama said at the time.

This policy was in made furtherance of procedures outlined in Executive Order 16388 that Obama issued in January 2015. In that fiat, the president set up a task force of federal officials to prepare a report on the potential use and misuse by local law enforcement of military-grade equipment.

Not surprisingly, within hours of the White House’s pronouncement, the police lobby was lobbing criticism at President Obama.

“The nation’s largest police union is fighting back against a White House plan to restrict local police forces’ ability to acquire military-style gear, accusing President Barack Obama’s task force of politicizing officers’ safety,” Politico reported in May 2015.

Well, their voice was heard, and the restriction lasted about a year. Now, thanks to the pressure from those police representatives, the pipeline of weapons more suited for waging war than serving warrants is open and flowing freely from the feds to the police.

Specifically, Reuters reports, the lobbyists’ warfighter wish list included “helmets, grenade launchers and tracked armored vehicles.”

While most stories published by traditional media outlets have focused on the 1033 program — the Defense Department’s program that takes decommissioned military gear and passes it to police — that well of war machines and materiel isn't nearly as deep as the one controlled by the Department of Homeland Security. This second source is rarely even mentioned in the context of controlling police access to military equipment, but Radley Balko, the author of books and articles revealing the depth and danger of the militarization of police, uncovers this virtually ignored arrangement between the feds and local law enforcement. He writes in the Washington Post,

Since 2003, for example, the Department of Homeland Security has been giving grants to police departments around the country to purchase new military-grade gear. That program now dwarfs the 1033 Program. It has also given rise to a cottage industry of companies that build gear in exchange for those DHS checks. Those companies now have a significant lobbying presence in Washington. I suspect that presence will now only grow stronger. So if the Obama administration really wants to roll back police militarization, this program needs reform, too.

Steadily and speedily, the forces of the militarized police are denying citizens the protections of fundamental civil liberties afforded us by the Bill of Rights. While there remain legions of law-enforcement officers devoted to protecting and serving their fellow citizens, the federal government’s proffer of powerful, free (or almost free) weapons, vehicles, gear, and tactical training is making the allure of becoming an unofficial branch of the armed forces irresistible.

The equipment being stricken from the list of items blocked from sale to the police is, the officers’ reps claim, necessary “to enhance officers' safety and their ability to respond to violent riots.”

Curiously, despite the recent spate of officer deaths, the current rate of such crimes is actually no higher than average and is lower than in recent years.

According to data reported by the National Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial Fund, 31 police officers have been killed this year, putting the country on pace for a yearly total of 59. That is fewer than the number of officers fatally shot in 2007, 2010, and 2011.

Such facts don’t support the statists’ goal of converting local police into a sixth branch of the U.S. armed forces — a force armed and trained to exert absolute control over the civilian population they were ostensibly created to protect and serve.

The White House, of course, insists that the revision of the year-old policy is standard operating procedure and nothing to do with being leaned on by law-enforcement lobbyists.

Pasco, of the Fraternal Order of Police, told Reuters that President Obama thought that this type of arms and armor “intimidated people,” but after their confab he came to see that police couldn’t protect and serve without being outfitted with armored personal vehicles and grenade launchers.

One wonders how the goal of reducing violent encounters between police and the public is furthered by endowing the former with firepower capable of killing the latter en masse.

Moreover, there is something psychologically significant about a police officer being outfitted with a uniform, a helmet, and weapons that were obviously made to protect the wearer — a warfighter — from an enemy and to enable him to kill that enemy.

As TechDirt writes, “Put someone in war gear and they're going to be pretty sure they're in a war, rather than serving the public as a trusted member of the community.”

In light of the president’s bowing to pressure to green-light the federal government’s subtle subordination of local police and sheriffs through grants of money and materiel, Americans need to participate in grassroots activism to work to keep local law enforcement under the supervision of local elected officials and free from state and federal control or influence.