Weekly InSight: The Evolution of Organized Crime in Venezuela...

Weekly InSight | 18 March 2016 News Analysis The Origins of Organized Crime in Venezuela Journalist Javier Mayorca examines the evolution of organized crime in Venezuela, from the first manifestations of official corruption and contraband during colonial times and the influence of Italian groups, to when criminal organizations reached their peak after Hugo Chávez took power.   Read More

Pirates, Contraband, and Mega-Gangs in Venezuela Images from El Salvador, World's New Murder Capital Book Traces Roots of Security Successes, Failures in Colombia Cities 'Fast and Furious' Weapons Found at Scene of Mexico 'Massacre'

News Mile-High Money Laundering Network Dismantled in Colombia Use of Armed Forces in Drug War a 'Mistake' Says Mexico Military Chief Venezuela Military Profit From Illegal Gold Mining: Ex-Governor Brazilians Protest, Demanding President’s Impeachment Four Mexicans Arrested in Meth 'Super Lab' Bust in Nigeria Haiti Political Instability Complicates Efforts to Confront Crime More News Multimedia UN estimates of the number of hectares used for coca cultivation in Colombia between 2007 and 2015. Read More One photo out of many taken by photographer Salvador Meléndez portraying the violence in El Salvador. Read More

Places to Retire....

 

You can retire to Phoenix, Arizona where...
1. You are willing to park 3 blocks away from your house because you found shade.
2. You've experienced condensation on your ass from the hot water in the toilet bowl.
3. You can drive for 4 hours in one direction and never leave town.
4. You have over 100 recipes for Mexican food.
5. You know that "dry heat" is comparable to what hits you in the face when you open your oven door.
6. The 4 seasons are: tolerable, hot, really hot, and ARE YOU KIDDING ME??
OR
You can retire to California where...
1. You make over $450,000 and you still can't afford to buy a house.
2. The fastest part of your commute is going down your driveway.
3. You know how to eat an artichoke.
4. You drive your rented Mercedes to your neighborhood block party.
5. When someone asks you how far something is, you tell them how long it will take to get there rather than how many miles away it is.
6. The 4 seasons are: Fire, Flood, Mud, and Drought.
OR
You can retire to New York City where...
1. You say "the city" and expect everyone to know you mean Manhattan.
2. You can get into a four-hour argument about how to get from Columbus Circle to Battery Park, but can't find Wisconsin on a map.
3. You think Central Park is "nature."
4. You believe that being able to swear at people in their own language makes you multi-lingual.
5. You've worn out a car horn. (IF you have a car).
6. You think eye contact is an act of aggression.
OR
You can retire to Minnesota where...
1. You only have three spices: salt, pepper, and ketchup ..
2. Halloween costumes have to fit over parkas.
3. You have seventeen recipes for casserole.
4. Sexy lingerie is anything flannel with less than eight buttons.
5. The four seasons are: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road repair.
6. The highest level of criticism is "He is different, she is different or It was different!
OR
You can retire to The Deep South where...
1. You can rent a movie and buy bait in the same store.
2. "Y'all" is singular and "all y'all" is plural.
3. "He needed killin" is a valid defense.
4. Everyone has 2 first names: Billy Bob, Jimmy Bob, Joe Bob, Betty Jean, Mary Beth, 5. Everywhere is either: "in yonder," "over yonder" or "out yonder".
OR
You can retire to Colorado where...
1. You carry your $3,000 mountain bike atop your $500 car.
2. You tell your husband to pick up Granola on his way home, so he stops at the day care center.
3. A pass does not involve a football or dating.
4. The top of your head is bald, but you still have a pony tail.
OR
You can retire to Nebraska where...
1. You've never met any celebrities, but the mayor knows your name.
2. Your idea of a traffic jam is three cars waiting to pass a tractor.
3. You have had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" on the same day.
4. You end sentences with a preposition: "Where's my coat at.
OR
FINALLY You can retire to Florida where...
1. You eat dinner at 3:15 in the afternoon.
2. All purchases include a coupon of some kind -- even houses and cars.
3. Everyone can recommend an excellent cardiologist, dermatologist, proctologist, podiatrist, or orthopedist.
4. Road construction never ends anywhere in the state.
5. Cars in front of you often appear to be driven by headless people. 

 

I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it’s getting harder and harder for me to find one now. 

 Calling an illegal alien an 'undocumented immigrant' is like calling a drug dealer an 'unlicensed pharmacist.'

China, Russia Planning Space Attacks on U.S. Satellites...

Military Newsletter

 

Latest intelligence on the world situation, updates on US military capabilities, news that affects Military retirees, 

and news that will probably never be reported by the "Liberal American Media!"

 

Edited by Lt Col Kent Vasby, USAF, Ret

 

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China, Russia Planning Space Attacks on U.S. Satellites

 

 

Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of the Air Force Space Command, said the threat to U.S. space systems has reached a new tipping point, and after years of post-Cold War stagnation foreign states are focused on curbing U.S. space systems.

 

Adversaries are developing kinetic, directed-energy, and cyber tools to deny, degrade, and destroy our space capabilities, Hyten said

 

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/china-russia-planning-space-attacks-on-u-s-satellites/

 

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Syrian Kurds Hope to Establish a Federal Region in Countrys North

 

 

If they move ahead with the plan, they will be dipping a toe into the roiling waters of debate over two proposals to redraw the Middle East map, each with major implications for Syria and its neighbors.

 

 One is the longstanding aspiration of Kurds across the region to a state of their own or, failing that, greater autonomy in the countries where they are concentrated: Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria, all of which view such prospects with varying degrees of horror.

 

https://news.vice.com/article/the-kurds-are-planning-to-declare-their-own-autonomous-region-in-syria

 

 

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US Army Generals Criticize Outdated Deployment Model: 'We've Gotten Rusty.' 

 

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. The US Army must rebuild its ability to deploy quickly and into contested areas, the services senior leaders said Wednesday.

 

Weve been deploying for 15 years, but I would suggest we havent been doing it the way we need to be doing it for the future, said Lt. Gen. Gustave Perna, the Armys deputy chief of staff for logistics. The [Army Force Generation] model served us well while we were fighting those two wars [in Iraq and Afghanistan], but it wont serve us as we need to be ready to execute expeditionary deployments and then expeditionary operations.

 

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/show-daily/ausa-global-force/2016/03/16/us-army-generals-criticize-outdated-deployment-model-weve-gotten-rusty/81858318/

 

 

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Military Admits Billion-Dollar War Toy F-35 Is F**ked

 

Officials are finally admitting the F-35 fighter has turned into a nightmare-but it's too late to stop the $400-billion program now.  

 

 

 

The dream of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has turned into a nightmare.

 

The program is six years behind schedule and tens of billions of dollars over budget. And now, 16 years after the JSF prototypes took off for their first flights, top officials are finally owning up to the trauma the $400-billion fighter program has inflicted on America's finances and war readiness.

 

The Pentagon can clear its conscience of the jet fighter's misdeeds because doing so is, at this late hour, consequence-free.

 

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/03/17/military-admits-billion-dollar-war-toy-f-35-is-f-ked.html

 

 

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Navy admiral warns of growing sense that 'might makes right' in Southeast Asia

 

The Navy's top admiral in the Pacific said Tuesday that there is a "palpable sense" in the region that "might makes right" has taken root as a philosophy - and he warned that the present chaos in the Middle East, eastern Europe and northern Africa may be an example of what the future could hold.  

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/03/16/navy-admiral-in-southeast-asia-a-belief-that-might-makes-right-has-returned/

 

 

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Navy's code-cracking officers get their own name

 

These naval officers have been known as cryptologists, information dominators, spooks and cryppies.

 

Their new official title: Cryptologic warfare officers.

 

 

Naah, they're still spooks.

 

http://www.navytimes.com/story/military/2016/03/16/navys-code-cracking-officers-get-their-own-name/81862142/

 

 

 

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The U.S. is heading toward a dangerous showdown with China

 

What makes this dispute so explosive is that it pits an American president who needs to affirm his credibility as a strong leader against a risk-taking Chinese president who has shown disregard for U.S. military power and who faces potent political enemies at home.

 

This isnt Pearl Harbor, but if people on all sides arent careful, it could be The Guns of August,  says Kurt Campbell, former assistant secretary of state for Asia, referring to the chain of miscalculations that led to World War I. The administration, he says, is facing another red line moment where it has to figure out how to carry through on past warnings.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-us-is-heading-toward-a-dangerous-showdown-with-china/2016/03/15/c835a1b4-eaf2-11e5-b0fd-073d5930a7b7_story.html

 

 

 

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How China's premier survived a two-hour news conference without answering a single hard question

 

 

The questions that are chosen -- and those that are not -- can be as revealing as the answers they receive. 

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/03/16/the-unasked-and-unanswered-questions-at-the-chinese-premiers-annual-news-conference/

 

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Drug Cartel In Mexico Tells Coca-Cola They Must Pay One Million Dollars...

 

The drug cartel in the Mexican state of Guerrero demanded from Coca-Cola one million dollars to keep their distribution center in the region. Coca-Cola refused to pay the money. 

 

 

 

The cartel retaliated and began to burn down Coca-Cola trucks. 

 

This story signifies just how powerful the narco state of Mexico is becoming, even to the point of driving out major American industries.

 

http://shoebat.com/2016/03/16/the-drug-cartel-in-mexico-tells-coca-cola-that-if-they-want-to-remain-in-mexico-they-must-pay-them-one-million-dollars-coca-cola-refuses-to-pay-the-money-the-cartel-burns-down-coca-cola-trucks-and-d/

 

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Oh the Irony: GOP Leaders Ask Cruz to Apologize Before Receiving Their Support

 

Its funny how the tables turn over time. Ted Cruz is the only one left who can pose any real challenge to Donald Trumps Republican nomination, and now, figures from the political establishment are asking him to make nice with them before they agree to coalesce around his campaign. 

 

While his uncompromising stances distinguished Cruz as the junior U.S. Senator from Texas, years of stunts like shutting down the government and calling Majority Leader Mitch McConnell a liar have caused many of his colleagues to dislike him.

 

http://www.mediaite.com/online/oh-the-irony-gop-leaders-ask-cruz-to-apologize-before-recieving-their-support/

 

 

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Trump's unorthodox foreign policy unnerves Republicans

 

Donald Trump's unconventional approach to foreign policy has confounded Republicans, who question his national security acumen and argue he would make the country less safe. 

 

http://thehill.com/policy/international/273156-trumps-unorthodox-foreign-policy-unnerves-republicans

 

 

 

 

Trump's finger on the button 'blows my mind'

http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/16/news/economy/goldman-ceo-blankfein-donald-trump/

 

 

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Irish Jokes

 

Young girl from Donegal leaves home to find work among the bright lights of London.

 

Comes home 6 months later and steps out of a taxi, wearing a full-length mink coat.

 

"Begorrah, Colleen" says her mother "'Tis a lovely soft coat yer wearin' - an' it looks so expensive. Where did ye get that?"

Colleen replies, "Sure now, I won it at the bingo.

 

Don't they have wonderful prizes in London."

 

When the weekend's over, Colleen returns to the bright lights, but she's back to visit her mom a few months later.

This time, when she steps out of the taxi, she's wearing a beautiful gold wristwatch and a large diamond ring.

(Same exchange with mom -- same "Won it at bingo.

 

" Then Colleen returns to the bright lights once again.)

 

A few months later, she's back again. And this time she's sporting a beautiful emerald and diamond necklace with matching bracelet and earrings. She hands her mother 1,000 pounds and explains that she won it all at the bingo. 

 

Then she asks her mom to run her a bath as she needs to freshen up. Her mom draws the bath while Colleen gets undressed in her bedroom, but when she gets to the washroom, there's only a quarter inch of hot water in the bathtub. 

 

Colleen, a wee bit peeved at her mom being so cheap with the hot water after being handed 1,000 pounds, calls downstairs, "Mom! Sure now didn't I ask you to run me a bath? There's only a quarter inch of water in the tub!" 

 

"Indade there is, me darlin'" replies her mom. "But we don't want ye gettin' yer bingo ticket wet now, do we?"

 

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Thanks, Skip

 

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An Irishman had been drinking at a pub all night.  The bartender finally said that the bar is closing. So the Irishman stood up to leave and fell flat on his face. He tried to stand one more time; same result. He figured he'll crawl outside and get some fresh air and maybe that will sober him up.

 

Once outside he stood up and fell flat on his face. So he decided to crawl the 4 blocks to his home. When he arrived at the door he stood up and again fell flat on his face.  He crawled through the door and into his bedroom. When he reached his bed he tried one more time to stand up. This time he managed to pull himself upright, but he quickly fell right into bed and is sound asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.   He was awakened the next morning to his wife standing over him, shouting, "So, you've been out drinking again!!"

     

"What makes you say that?" he asked, putting on an innocent look.

     

"The pub called. You left your wheelchair there again."

 

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Pat and Mike were doing some street repairs in front of a known house of ill repute in Boston. 

 

A Jewish Rabbi came walking down the street, looked the left, looked to right, and ducked into the house. 

 

Pat paused a bit from swinging his pick and said "Mike...will you look at that! A man of the cloth, and going into a place like that in broad daylight!".

 

A bit later, a Baptist minister came down the street, looked to the left, looked to the right, and scurried into the house.  Mike layed down his shovel, turned to Pat and said "Pat! Are you seeing what  I'm seeing? A man of the Church, and he's giving that place his custom!" 

 

Just then, a Catholic Priest came down the street, looked to the left, looked to the right, and slipped into the bawdy house.

 

Pat and Mike straightened up, removed their hats, and Mike says "Faith, and there must be somebody sick in there." 

 

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An Irish daughter had not been home for over five years.  

Thanks, Bob

 

Upon her return, her Father cursed her heavily.  

     

"Where have ye been all this time, child?   

Why did ye not write to us, not even a line?   

Why didn't ye call?   

Can ye not understand what ye put yer old Mother thru?" 

 

The girl, crying, replied, "Sniff, sniff ... Dad ... I became a prostitute ..."   

 

"Ye what!!?  Out of here, ye shameless harlot!  Sinner!  You're a disgrace to this Catholic family."

 

"OK, Dad ... as ye wish.  I just came back to give mum this luxurious fur coat, title deed to a ten bedroom mansion plus  a $5 million savings certificate.   

 

For me little brother, this gold Rolex.   

 

And for ye Daddy, the sparkling new Mercedes limited edition convertible that's parked outside plus a membership to the country club ... (takes a breath) ... and an invitation for ye all to spend New Year's Eve on board my new yacht in the Riviera." 

 

"Now what was it ye said ye had become?" says Dad. 

 

Girl, crying again, "Sniff, sniff ... a prostitute Daddy!  Sniff, sniff."   

 

"Oh!  Be Jesus!  Ye scared me half to death, girl!   I thought ye said a Protestant.   Come here and give yer old Dad a hug."

TRUMP GOES ALINSKY: USES THE TACTICS OF THE LEFT TO ATTACK HILLARY CLINTON...

One Citizen Speaking...

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• TRUMP GOES ALINSKY: USES THE TACTICS OF THE LEFT TO ATTACK HILLARY CLINTON
• SALT LAKE CITY GOP DEBATE CANCELED: TRUMP AFRAID TO GO HEAD-TO-HEAD WITH TED CRUZ?
• GOP TYING TO STEAL ELECTION 
• TRUMP, KASICH AND THE ESTABLISHMENT SPIN ...

TRUMP GOES ALINSKY: USES THE TACTICS OF THE LEFT TO ATTACK HILLARY CLINTON Posted: 16 Mar 2016 12:34 PM PDT It appears that Donald Trump has taken a lesson from the Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals and used Rule #5 (“Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” There is no defense. It’s irrational. It’s infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions.) to ridicule Hillary Clinton …   Is this what we want for a President? by @realdonaldtrump

SALT LAKE CITY GOP DEBATE CANCELED: TRUMP AFRAID TO GO HEAD-TO-HEAD WITH TED CRUZ? Posted: 16 Mar 2016 12:55 PM PDT The March 21st GOP debate in Salt Lake City has been canceled … In a stunning show of cowardice, Trump has proven he is not ready for the presidency and is afraid of Ted Cruz.  Donald Trump announced that he would not participate, followed by John Kasich, leaving event sponsors, Fox News, to cancel the debate. “I thought the last debate on CNN was the last debate, that was going to be it. Nobody told me there were going to be more debates” the billionaire said. “I think we’ve had enough debates.” GOP presidential debate in SLC canceled Monday's GOP presidential debate scheduled here in Utah has been canceled, FOX 13 News has confirmed. The decision to cancel the debate followed Donald Trump's announcement on "FOX & Friends" that he would not be appearing. Instead, he said he would be appearing at a pro-Israel group's event on Monday night. Trump dropping out led John Kasich to indicate he would not be appearing at Monday's debate. Following phone conferences between FOX News Channel and the Republican National Committee, the event was canceled, representatives for the Salt Palace confirmed. Utah Republican Party officials told FOX 13 it was Kasich's decision to back out of Monday's debate that killed it. Ted Cruz would have been the only candidate on stage. Source: GOP presidential debate in SLC canceled | fox13now.com

GOP TYING TO STEAL ELECTION  Posted: 16 Mar 2016 10:43 AM PDT Something stinks in the GOP as the establishment leadership plot to thwart the will of “We the People” and to disenfranchise the Trump an Cruz voters because both men are wild cards when it comes to continuing crony capitalism and leaving Washington’s dung heap intact.  The devil is in the details … A convention rule adopted in the 2012 convention at the behest of Mitt Romney who feared delegate dilution by populist libertarian Ron Paul specifies that to be a viable selection, a candidate must win the majority of delegates in eight states or territories. Of course, pre-convention maneuvering or floor actions preceding any candidate name being entered can affect how business is done.   We choose the nominee, not the voters: Senior GOP official Curly Haugland, RNC Rules Committee, and Gary Emineth, former chairman of the North Dakota Republican Party, talk about Republican convention rules and why it could lead to a contested convention.  Political parties, not voters, choose their presidential nominees, a Republican convention rules member told CNBC, a day after GOP front-runner Donald Trump rolled up more big primary victories.  "The media has created the perception that the voters choose the nomination. That's the conflict here," Curly Haugland, an unbound GOP delegate from North Dakota, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday. He even questioned why primaries and caucuses are held.  Haugland is one of 112 Republican delegates who are not required to cast their support for any one candidate because their states and territories don't hold primaries or caucuses.  Source: We choose the nominee, not the voters: Senior GOP official John Boehner, the country club crybaby who typifies the establishment elaborates … Boehner backs Paul Ryan for president Former Speaker John Boehner said Paul Ryan should be the Republican nominee for president if the party fails to choose a candidate on the first ballot. "If we don't have a nominee who can win on the first ballot, I'm for none of the above," Boehner said at the Futures Industry Association conference here. "They all had a chance to win. None of them won. So I'm for none of the above. I'm for Paul Ryan to be our nominee."  Source: Boehner backs Paul Ryan for president - POLITICO Now is the time for John Kasich to step aside … While any candidate should be free to compete until the bitter end, common decency and love of country should prevail. John Kasich who has zero mathematical probability for a path to a first-vote nomination should gracefully bow out – even to the extent of not participating in the March 21, 2016 presidential debate sponsored by the unfair and unbalanced Fox News, the “Trump Network.” The idea that Trump dominates the news cycle by manipulating the news with outrageous statements should be moderated.  Trump needs 591 delegates to take the first ballot. (1,237 – 646)  Cruz needs 841 delegates to take the first ballot (1,237 – 396)  Rubio needs 1,068 delegates to take the first ballot (1,237 – 169)  Kasich needs 1,095 delegates to take the first ballot (1,237 – 142)  There are an estimated 2,472 delegates available (Source) and Trump, Cruz, and Rubio have 1,211, leaving 1,261 delegates open. Of which Kasich would need approximately 89% of the remaining delegates to reach a first ballot victory. An impossible scenario.  Since anyone can apparently be nominated by the party’s leaders after the first ballot, there is no downside for Kasich stepping aside at this point in time.  Bottom line … Politics is a dirty game of power, money, and pure arm-twisting. We are so screwed when our party’s leaders and candidates put themselves ahead of our national interests. At this point in time we need a constitutional conservative in office; not a free-spending crony capitalist establishment candidate pandering to the special interests and usual suspects. Ted Cruz has proven he can beat Trump, he certainly can beat Hillary Clinton, and he is the right man at the right time in our nation’s history. -- steve

TRUMP, KASICH AND THE ESTABLISHMENT SPIN ... Posted: 15 Mar 2016 10:03 PM PDT If you listen to the lamestream media, or even Fox News, billionaire bully boy Donald Trump has a clear ascendancy path to the GOP nomination. Unfortunately, unless John Kasich will put his country before his personal ambition, there might be a contested convention and the “status quo” establishment will prevail. Giving us four more years of crony capitalism and waste, fraud, and abuse – or a direct line to progressive socialism/communism. Are the progressive socialist democrats are using Donald Trump as a stalking horse to hijack the GOP?  Trump is no conservative, he is a lucky billionaire buffoon at the right place at the right time. In fact he admits to being more a progressive socialist democrat than a republican … Trump in '04: 'I probably identify more as Democrat' Before Donald Trump was a front-running Republican presidential candidate, the real estate mogul believed that the nation's economy ran better when Democrats were in control and that Hillary Clinton would be a strong negotiator with foreign nations. "In many cases, I probably identify more as Democrat," Trump told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in a 2004 interview. "It just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats than the Republicans. Now, it shouldn't be that way. But if you go back, I mean it just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats. ...But certainly we had some very good economies under Democrats, as well as Republicans. But we've had some pretty bad disaster under the Republicans." <Source: CNN News> The truth is that Donald Trump is a New York Liberal and Kasich is an establishment spoiler … New York Liberals …  Bottom line … Remember it is not about the number of states that are won, it is all about the number of delegates and who can get to 1,237 first. If nobody gets 1,237, you go to a contested convention. There should only be two people standing on the Fox Stage and only two candidates left in the race: Donald Trump representing establishment authoritarian crony capitalism and Ted Cruz representing constitutional conservatism. If Trump loses to a pre-indictment Hillary, we are screwed. If Trump wins, we are screwed. And, if Hillary wins and is indicted, we get her Vice President as the new Barack Obama, and we are screwed. The deck is stacked unless Ted Cruz has a breakout. -- steve