I wrote this book about voter fraud for the 2012 election, but this silent crime has again reappeared as a threat to an honest and fair outcome for this election. Buy my book for a good background on this recurring affront to American democracy.
Neo-Stalinist Russia
…while critics accuse Putin of presiding over the creeping rehabilitation of Stalin – preferring to downplay the human cost of his rule to focus on the Soviet Union’s successes – an independent poll conducted in Russia in March last year revealed that 45 per cent of those questioned said they thought that the sacrifices made under Stalin were justified given the speed of the Soviet Union’s A placard depicting Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Putin, in Independence Square, Kiev, in 2014 (Getty)economic growth during his rule. more…
(Independent, Stalin rises again over Vladimir Putin’s Russia, six decades after his death, Nadia Beard, 4 February 2016)
The US Defense Secretary broached an Iraq possibility that the Obama administration wants to avoid
US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter acknowledged during a House Armed Services Committee hearing last week that Iraq might eventually fracture into separate territories for Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds, the Washington Examiner reports.
“What if a multi-sectarian Iraq turns out not to be possible?” Carter said, according to the Examiner. “That is an important part of our strategy now on the ground.
“If that government can’t do what it’s supposed to do, then we will still try to enable local ground forces, if they’re willing to partner with us, to keep stability in Iraq, but there will not be a single state of Iraq.”
The statement by Carter, who previously said that the Iraqi military “showed no will to fight” as ISIS captured the city of Ramadi, strays from the Obama administration’s official position about Iraqi unity.
“If this is a new policy position it should be stated. If these are personal views, that should be stated,” Michael Knights, a Washington Institute fellow who is an expert on military and security affairs in Iraq and Iran, told Business Insider in an email.
“But this is making it sound as if US policy is that the Iraqi army is finished and Iraq is splintering as a state. I doubt that is the overall assessment of the intelligence community or the White House’s read on Iraq.
“Iraqis will hear this as the US backing away and insulting their army and their state,” Knights added. “How does that help the war effort?”
President Barack Obama has said that including Sunnis in the fight against the Islamic State (also known as ISIS, ISIL, and Daesh) is crucial to defeating the terrorists, but it doesn’t seem like that effort is succeeding.
Meanwhile, the conflict in Iraq is becoming increasingly sectarian. The Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad has been reluctant to arm Sunni fighters to defend their territory, and Shia militias backed by Iran are leading the ground fight against the Islamic State, a Sunni extremist group.
These Shia militias have been accused of committing atrocities against Sunni civilians, and many Sunnis who have attempted to flee Islamic State militants have been turned away as they try to get into Baghdad. This all furthers the mistrust that Sunnis have in the Iraqi government.
Given the circumstances, some experts argue that Carter’s hypothetical is already a reality.
“After four decades of misrule under Saddam Hussein and [former Shiite prime minister] Nouri al-Maliki … the [Iraqi] national identity has broken down and it has been replaced by the identities that existed before it — the tribal, the ethnic, the sectarian,” Ali Khedery, the longest continuously serving American official in Iraq, told Business Insider.
“[The administration] thinks that Iraq and Syria still exist when in fact they have already collapsed,” Khedery added. “On the ground, there is no Iraq left anymore, there is no Syria left anymore.”
Khedery went on to say that “the first step toward a viable American strategy in Iraq” is to admit that the nation is fractured and work within that reality by backing moderate Sunni, Shia, and Kurdish elements against radical militants, including ISIS and Al Qaeda as well as the Iran-backed militias.
But it’s unclear whether the Obama administration is willing to acknowledge the possibility of a fractured Iraq and go up against the Iran-backed Shia militias as he tries to negotiate a watershed nuclear deal with Iran.
via Military & Defense http://ift.tt/1GDfAXq
SEIU Defeated in Adjunct Unionization Election at Webster University
The SEIU was decisively defeated earlier this week in its effort to unionize adjuncts at Webster University. Credit for the victory goes to an alliance between a dedicated group of adjuncts in opposition to the union and a successful campaign by the Webster University administration.
I first learned about the victory for our opposition to the union on Monday afternoon, when I received a very snarky e-mail–more on this later–sent by the SEIU organizing committee. It lamented its defeat–but claimed unfairness. Why? Because there had been an opposition.
How dare we oppose them?
A few minutes later, the official Webster University email arrived, signed by Provost, Julian Schuster. As with all other Webster communications, it was factual, polite, and calmly written.
The union had, in fact, been defeated in a vote by the adjuncts of 268 to 202 out of a total number of 666 adjuncts, 57% to 43%. Of great interest is that there had been a significant number of challenged ballots–nearly 20% of adjunct ballots and 80% of instructor ballots had been thrown out. This was not a surprise to me–I have dealt with this union before. Ballot stuffing is a regular strategy for this bunch.
So why did the union organizers think the election was unfair? Let me quote their letter, “Webster administrators hired an anti-union law firm to help deliver negative propaganda to mislead adjunct faculty about our choices.”
What a crock!
Webster has every right to oppose a union so destructive in its beliefs and actions and so counter to the concept of academic freedom and collegiality. Strongly voiced opposition is not unfair. However, this union restricts its own members’ first amendment rights–so the organizers’ opposition to free speech should not be surprising.
The union organizers’ letter went on to say, “We wanted to vote in a fair, democratic election in order to join with other contingent faculty around the country who are uniting in SEIU/Adjunct Action—sadly this did not occur. The Webster administration did not follow the example set by other reputable institutions, such as Georgetown University, that decided that meddling with employees’ union efforts was counterproductive to their stated mission.”
Utter garbage!
So, what did the union organizers mean by this? They meant that they actually believe that it is disreputable not to roll over and play dead in the face of a unionization effort. To these people, the only ethical position is one that agrees with theirs. No academic freedom for them–nor for the rest of us had they won.
It isn’t over with this election. Their letter goes on to say, “we are considering our legal options”. The letter also claims, despite the clear vote to the contrary, that the election results do, “not change the fact that the union is us, the faculty.”
Not true, the union is not the faculty–less than a third of the faculty even voted for the union–and the rest of us opposed it or didn’t participate in the vote.
Unfortunately, as indicated by the letter, the organizers’ intent is clear: continue to sow discontent; build walls between faculty and administration; split apart adjunct and full time faculty; recruit student support for the union in their classes; and damage the collegiality of this school.
So, what do I have to say to the SEIU and its disaffected union organizers? It is very simple.
You lost–now go away!
I have mailed my no vote on SEIU at Webster University
I oppose SEIU–a corrupt, violent union that would restrict my first amendment rights.
Illegal SEIU Medicaid Skimming Scheme
I am an adjunct at Webster University; I oppose the effort to compel adjuncts to join the SEIU (Service Employees International Union) at Webster.
Today, in the attached YouTube video, I would like to discuss some of the corruption and illegal activities of this union. To summarize, the SEIU, in collusion with several governors, created dummy corporations, forcibly unionized family members caring for their ailing relatives, and skimmed millions from their Medicaid checks. Last summer the Supreme Court declared such scams as illegal. Tens of thousands are leaving the union and numerous suits are being filed.
The SEIU needs revenues and adjuncts are the current target. I urge you not to chose this organization to represent you and me to our colleagues in the administration!
I oppose SEIU adjunct organization effort at Webster U.
I am an adjunct at Webster University; I oppose the effort to compel adjuncts to join the SEIU (Service Employees International Union) at Webster.
The SEIU has succeeded in persuading enough adjuncts to sign petitions and force a union election. This will affect about 674 adjuncts and part time instructors–Missouri is a forced unionization state; so if the union wins, we are all forced to come under its jurisdiction.
This is a big deal. Whether or not one might favor unionization of higher education–I don’t–the SEIU is the wrong union. There are many reasons and I will blog about some of them over the next few days; but today I am attaching a YouTube video on how the SEIU oath of membership, constitution, and bylaws place restrictions on political action, speech, and assembly–all of which are cherished and vital aspects of academic freedom.