DAVID CAMERON - You want summa dis?

LIBYA - Muammar al-Gaddafi & Friends

Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi Gaddafi's Friends Source - 199gSauerkraut - here.

Libyan Exodus

Libya: UK Embassy Closes As Security Worsens 9:19am UK, Saturday 02 August 2014 Dozens of people are evacuated from Libya by the Greek military as the fighting intensifies and the UK Embassy is closed. The British Embassy in Libya has suspended all operations and staff are leaving the country - due to a recent upsurge in violence. ... Militias are now holding increasing sway in the country as the central government, police and military have lost much of their authority. They have filled a power vacuum that was left after the ousting of long time dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Fighting between rival militias has escalated over the past two weeks, prompting many western governments to pull their diplomats out of the country. A British Embassy convoy was fired at during an attempted carjacking on Sunday, resulting in all UK nationals being urged to leave the country immediately. Many UK diplomatic staff were evacuated earlier this week after intense fighting near the embassy compound but now the FCO [Foreign and Commonwealth Office] has said it will suspend its consulate once it has assisted the departure of British nationals. ...The United States shut its embassy last Saturday and evacuated its diplomats by road to neighbouring Tunisia under the protection of F16 fighter jets. On Friday, several explosions were heard and plumes of smoke seen in Libya's second largest city Benghazi, thought to be from air attacks by a renegade general on the bases of Islamic militias. A coalition of Islamic militias had captured a number of army bases in Benghazi, the city that was the main headquarters for the opposition during resistance to Gaddafi. Meanwhile, in the capital Tripoli, other rival militias have been battling for weeks over control of its airport. Foreign nationals who were forced to flee Libya as the fighting intensified, arrived in Athens on Saturday morning aboard the Greek navy ship Salamis. ...  http://news.sky.com/story/1311882/libya-uk-embassy-closes-as-security-worsens

That sounds pretty full on.

Guess the ambassadors to the Middle East are the ones that have drawn the short straws.

Obama and Cameron's Ambitions

Where have all the Commies gone? Was about to launch into a tirade along the lines of an indignant: The Moscow Times isn't The Moscow Times ...  but it looks like it actually is rather Moscow-ish, as it does have an address in Moscow and is a Moscow publication ... although it's owned by a massive non-Russian group. Sadly, it looks like the Kremlin's joined the ranks of the profiteers and avowed capitalists, and has become ... well, I hate to say this ... er, ... practically American. So why are Obama and David Cameron gathering NATO troops at Russia's back door, like Russia's a red menace about to seduce us all into declaring ourselves card-carrying raving Commies -- as if Russia must be urgently contained? Would it perhaps have something to do with Obama and Cameron's own -- not so ultruistic -- ambitions for Europe? Ask the Worst Socialist Ever.

US CONGRESS - LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT - OVERVIEW

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH - CONGRESS

Main US legislative body is Congress

Congress consists of:

• Senate (100 Members, 2 Senators each State)
• House of Representatives (435 Members, elected every 2 years) ... State represented according to its population.

 
Legislative proposals may be in the form of:

Bills Most common form of proposed legislation. Originate in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. In practice, legislative proposals of any form are mostly introduced to the House of Representatives. All REVENUE RAISING bills must originate in House of Representatives, but Senate can propose or agree with amendments) To become law: bills must be agreed in an identical form by House of Representatives; and  Senate;  AND must receive presidential approval.

Joint Resolutions Similar to bills. Can originate in either the House of Representatives or in the Senate. However, joint resolutions that propose amendments to the constitution are not presented to the President for approval. Two-thirds of both Senate and House of Representatives must approve JOINT RESOLUTIONS AND they must be submitted to the States for ratification (confirmation of adoption).

Concurrent Resolutions Bypass the President House of Representatives and Senate approval required. Concurrent resolutions usually regulate administrative issues ( operations of both the House of Representatives and the Senate).

Simple Resolutions Bypass the President.  Regulate issues related to the operation of either the House of Representatives or Senate. [ Presumably become law when approved by both House of Representatives and Senate (not expressly stated in source) ]

Introduction and Referral to COMMITTEE Bills can be introduced by any Member in the House of Representatives. Can have an unlimited number of 'co-sponsors' (proposing parties). Proposed bill is assigned a LEGISLATIVE NUMBER. Then it is referred to the COMMITTEE which has jurisdiction over specific area of law. Then it is printed in its INTRODUCED FORM.

Consideration Initiated by PUBLIC HEARING. Committee members hear debate proposed legislation. A transcript of the TESTIMONIES is taken during the hearings. TRANSCRIPT is  made available for inspection in the COMMITTEE OFFICE. After HEARING (mentioned above), bill is considered in detailed in a session. Detailed session known as:  the 'MARK-UP' SESSION. Now, at this point, members of the COMMITTEE can propose amendments and a vote is taken for or against amendments. COMMITTEE then determines by vote what further action should be taken on the proposed legislation. It can be REPORTED (with or without amendments) or TABLED ( which means that no further action will occur). If extensive amendments needed, Committee REPORTS A NEW BILL (which incorporates the all the approved changes (“clean bill”)). The COMMITTEE REPORT is the document that explains the purpose and the scope of the bill, and the reasons for its approval.

House Floor consideration  (ie House of Representatives) Legislation mostly gets to this stage after REPORTING by Committee. EXCEPTION:  sometimes brought to the Floor directly. The procedure in the FULL HOUSE is regulated by “rules”. 'Rules' are resolutions that determine the debate time and whether amendments will be offered. After the debate, the House of Representatives votes (for or against the bill). Alternatively, it may decide to  RECOMMIT the proposed legislation to a committee for consideration.

Senate stage Following House of Representatives approval: Proposed legislation submitted to Senate for consideration. Both Senate and House of Reps must AGREE on SAME final draft, before presenting to PRESIDENT. Any changes to draft by Senate, must therefore go back to the House of Representatives for consideration. House of Representatives and Senate  appoint a CONFERENCE COMMITTEE  with both House and Senate members to deal with this lengthy process. CONFERENCE COMMITTEE is charged with NEGOTIATING and RESOLVING what is at issue between the bodies. FINAL VERSION of the bill returns to the House and the Senate for VOTE on FINAL PASSAGE.

Presidential action Bill then resented to the President for approval. If the President signs the bill, it becomes law.  The President has the right to refuse to sign. In this case, the President must return a bill with objections to Congress (10 days [excl Sundays]). Otherwise, Bill becomes law as if it had been signed -- if president fails to return it to Congress. Congress has the right to prevent a bill’s return by adjournment. In this case the bill cannot become law, even if the President has not sent objections to the Congress. This procedure is known as “pocket veto”. The extent of pocket veto authority is disputable and it has not yet been determined by US courts.

ABOVE SOURCED AT:  http://www.out-law.com/page-7767

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COMMENT



Largely for my benefit, as I didn't know exactly how laws are passed in the US.

I'll probably forget the ins and outs of this, but it's a useful guide to tuck away.

GAZA - US House of Representatives - Approve $225 million military funding to Israel

US  - House of Representatives Military funding to Israel Approved by Vote of 395-8 In a boost to Israel, the U.S. Congress approved $225 million in emergency funding for Iron Dome, sending the measure to Obama to be signed into law. The House of Representatives approved the funding by a 395-8 vote late on Friday, several hours after the Senate passed it unanimously. 2 Aug 2014 http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/08/02/uk-mideast-gaza-idUKKBN0FV04D20140802

The Palestinians have no hope.

Cameron parroting Obama - Anti-Russian Propaganda

NATO must respond to Russia: Cameron AFPBy AFP | AFP – 1 hour 55 minutes ago NATO must rethink its long-term relationship with Russia and strengthen the alliance's ability to respond quickly to any threat, Prime Minister David Cameron said Saturday. NATO needs to sustain a "robust" defensive presence in eastern Europe, Cameron wrote in a letter to the alliance's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, and the 27 other NATO country leaders. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization also needs to beef up its response force of rapidly deployable land, sea, air and special operations troops, he said. With six weeks to go before Britain hosts the NATO summit in Newport, south Wales, Cameron said he wanted to use the meeting to agree a tougher policy towards Moscow, which would send a message that NATO member states would not be intimidated. "In 2014, the world is more unpredictable than ever and we meet at another pivotal moment in the history of the alliance," Cameron wrote. "In Afghanistan, our combat mission is coming to an end. To the east, Russia has ripped up the rulebook with its illegal annexation of Crimea and aggressive destabilisation of Ukraine. "To the south, an arc of instability spreads from north Africa and the Sahel, to Syria, Iraq and the wider Middle East. "So we must use the summit to agree how NATO should adapt to respond to and deter such threats; and to ensure the continued collective defence of all its members." He said while NATO had only ever sought to be a partner to Russia, not a threat, "it is clear that Russia views NATO as an adversary". [It's NATO lining up US troops at Russia's back door.] "We must... review our long-term relationship with Russia," Cameron wrote. "We must accept that the co-operation of recent years is not currently possible because of Russia's own illegal actions in NATO's neighbourhood and revisit the principles that guide our relationship with Russia." NATO must agree on "long-term measures to strengthen our ability to respond quickly to any threat, to reassure those allies who fear for their own country's security and to deter any Russian aggression". [NATO planning on attacking Russia?  It's just bullshit -- those 'allies' are cohorts who are OWNED by US and probably by corporations and lenders in UK.] As NATO's combat operations in Afghanistan wind down towards the end of the year, he said the alliance had to consider how to support the country in the future and stop it from "once again becoming a safe haven for terrorists". He said NATO had to address the risks and challenges posed by failed states, regional conflicts, terrorism and cyber-attacks. He also urged the 28 member states to meet the NATO target of spending two percent of gross domestic product on defence, something Cameron said only four countries were achieving. [Not original.  Echoing Obama's demands.] https://uk.news.yahoo.com/nato-must-respond-russia-cameron-002741292.html#ZI4PJDA

Russia's 'ripped up the rule book'.  LOL
Er, ... did the US and UK ever have a rule book?

Cameron's echoing the US demands.
US wants to get its hands on more of Europe.
US wants to replace European energy infrastructure.
US wants to exploit Ukraine, commercially and otherwise.
US wants supply Europe with gas.
US wants to station military right next to Russia (despite past agreement that this would not take place).

If I were Cameron I'd get on twitter and check out what's happening in the Middle East.

It makes your blood run cold.

Russia?  Nope.  Not in the least.

Greed is first priority for these guys.