What the...?!?

In the news, Rep. Nunes informed Trump that conversations between his transition team and Russian officials may have been recorded. In response, Trump announced that he felt partly vindicated for his accusation of Obama. I don't understand why. Trump's accusation was that Obama ordered wiretapping on Trump Tower during the presidential campaign. Nunes remarks were about the Trump transition team which was after the election, not during the campaign. Furthermore, Nunes never mentioned Obama as being responsible for ordering it. Lastly, Nunes stated the target of the surveillance was the Russian officials and not on the transition team members themselves. Whether Nunes was right to inform Trump before informing the House Intelligence Committee is another question entirely.

During a recent interview with Trump, O'Reilly asked him what he thought of Putin to which Trump responded that he respected him. O'Reilly commented that Putin was a killer. I can understand why Trump didn't want to agree with him -there's no need to burn any bridges. However, Trump responded that the U.S. is not so innocent and we have our own killers. If an average American on the street made a comment like that, you wouldn't think much of it. But, when you are the President of the U.S., you do not disrespect your own country. Trump could have easily responded by telling O'Reilly that he wants the U.S. to have a better relationship with Russia and calling Putin a killer would hurt our chances of achieving it. Pence was asked if the U.S. had a higher moral code than Russia, yes or no, and he dodged the question refusing to say yes or no. As the President and V.P. they represent the country, it would be nice if they spoke highly of it.

The European Union and U.S. prefer that President Assad voluntarily step down from office. I am skeptical that he will do so but, in the event he does step down, who would fill the power vacuum?

There are Americans upset over this march. The U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to peaceful assemble. As Americans, if you support U.S. democracy, please be respectful of their right to assemble. People can offer constructive criticism but malicious language (from either side) only serves to weaken our democracy.

Recently, Putin criticized Obama administration for undermining Trump presidency. When has Putin become so virtuous? He attacked the sovereignty of an independent nation, Ukraine, in order to illegally annex Crimea. He placed thousands of Russian troops to support Crimea rebels. He provided a mobile missile system that rebels used to shoot down a commercial jet, Malaysian flight MH17. He had armed soldiers prevent pro-Ukraine Crimeans from voting to stay with Ukraine. An election everyone but him called a farce. Because of these acts of aggression several European countries and the U.S. have levied sanctions against Russia and Putin accuses Obama of undermining a government. What I am asking is Trump supporters can continue to support him without trusting Putin. The 2 are not mutually exclusive. Unfortunately, one of Trump's greatest weaknesses is his ego (eg. "I have the best words," "I build the best walls," "I am a winner. I always win," "No one knows more than me"). If you criticize him, he will hate you but, if you praise him, he will be your best friend. Hilary used this weakness to bait him at the debates. Putin uses it to charm him. Putin is ex- colonel in the KGB. He spent over 20 years in espionage and propaganda. He's more than capable of deceit. Putin has never cared for the well being of the U.S and he never will even if Trump is president. He'll shake Trump's hand with one hand and have a knife in his other hand and Trump will never realize it.

I just had enough of Donald Trump and his verbal abuse on Twitter. His tweets often include words like "Idiot," "Moron" and "Total loser." Today, he wrote "loser JHU Comic Books." JHU Comics is one of my favorite bookstores. Robert Sikoryak will signing his book "Unquotable Trump." Trump might not like his book but he has no right to bash the JHU Comics. A bookstore he has never been to before. Melania Trump once promised to fight cyber bullying. So why hasn't she spoke up against Donald Trump who is one of the most visible and prolific cyberbully. Do you know of any other world leader that uses Twitter to insult and malign anyone s/he doesn't like with so much malice? This is behavior I would expect from an foul mouthed adolescent. For God Sake, you [Trump] are an adult. Please start acting like one. There are more mature and constructive ways of handling criticism. The life of the President of the U.S. is a life of being bombarded by criticism. It's not pleasant and to deal with it requires more than 140 characters.

Trump has shown more faith in Putin and Assange than his own nation's intelligence agencies, FBI and CIA. In the future, as President of U.S., instead of consulting with the CIA, FBI and NSA, should he confer with Putin and Assange. Putin is an ex-KGB colonel. He is a cold war warrior whose previous job was espionage and propaganda. Julian Assange has sought refugee in the Ecuador Embassy in London for the past 4 1/2 years. Why? Because he is wanted on 4 separate charges of sexual assault and rape. The London police has been ordered to take Assange into custody should he leave the embassy. While denying these charges, Assange has expressed his fear that the British government would extradite him to the United States to stand trial for the illegal procurement and release of top secret U.S. intelligence files. He has repeatedly expressed his disdain for the U.S. government. He is a very bitter man who blames the U.S. government for forcing him into hiding. It is just sad that any American, let alone the President of the United States, would place his faith on these 2 individuals over his or her own nation's intelligence agencies.

The POTUS has to deal with a great number of headaches. As POTUS, he would be criticized by people within the U.S. and those outside the U.S. He would have to negotiate with Congress and foreign nations. He would have to pander to lobbyists. He would constantly be scrutinized by the media. Without mentioning any particular policy he might have, I noticed Trump does not work well with others. He regularly ignores the advice of his campaign managers. He constantly fights with members of his own party. He reacts to any perceived slight by engaging in a weekend long pissing contest on Twitter and/or threatening to sue someone. Trump is accustomed to having the final say in any matter. He won't have that as POTUS. I can't see him actually appreciating the job as POTUS.

On 2/29/16, a young black man, Akiel Denkins was shot and killed by a white police officier, D.C. Twiddy, in Raleigh, NC. The specifics of the incident are as follow: Off. Twiddy spotted Denkins and was aware that there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest. Twiddy attempted to arrest him & Denkins made a run for it. Twiddy caught up with Denkins and a scuffle ensued. Denkins took out a gun and Twiddly reacted by fatally shooting Denkins. The black community, where Denkins lived, denounced the shooting and charged that a white police officer had wrongfully shot a black suspect. This is just ludicrous, a community siding with a criminal and not the police. Here are some additional details, Denkins had been convicted 3 times for possession and selling illegal drugs. He was on parole at the time of the shooting. The warrant for his arrest was issued b/c he was continuing to sell drugs. He was on parole and he had a gun! Both of which are parole violations. He ran because he knew he was going to be arrested with drugs and a gun in his possession. This guy was peddling illegal drugs to people, some of them children, in his own black community. He was turning people into addicts. He had no intention of stopping (i.e. He was convicted 3 times for selling drugs & was selling drugs while on parole.). Why would anyone in their right mind support this criminal? Why, because he's black and the police officer is white? If that's the only reason then that's insane.

Recently, I read a number of articles of the plight of refugees from Syria making their way to Europe. Many don't make it. When I look at the world map, I see Syria is relatively close to Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Why do the refugees not head to these countries? They share the same language, religion and customs. I am not saying that Saudi Arabia and Egypt don't have their own problems but I rather deal with these problems than to see a refugee toddler wash up on the shores of Europe.

I doubt that anyone in America does not know about the Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman case. The black community was up in arms over what appeared to be a case of racial profiling and, sadly, the homicide of a young black man at the hands of a white man. Truth be told, many white communities supported the black community in condemning racial profiling. Personally, I was shocked when George Zimmerman was found innocent on all charges. There was astounding amount of media coverage over this case. But, what I found peculiar was that there are several examples of Black on White bias attacks which go largely unnoticed. For example, on September 4th, a black man in Union Square Park, in New York City, shouted, "I am going to punch the first white man I see." And, he did just that. Lashawn Marten punched a 62 year old man, Jeffrey Babbitt, so hard that he was knocked out and his head hit the pavement. Two men came to his assistance and Marten attacked them. When the police arrived, he challenged them to arrest him. Jeffrey Babbitt was rushed to the hospital and was found to be in a coma. The doctors announced that he was brain dead and unlikely to recover. A few days later, Babbitt died. Lashawn Marten denied it was a bias attack and refused to accept that he was responsible for Babbitt's death. He demanded to see Babbitt's death certificate. Strangely, the black community wasn't up in arms over this obvious bias attack. Why not? I would think the black community would want to show that Marten's actions and beliefs do not represent those of the black community as a whole.

Ebay is great. It connects sellers to buyers in a way never possible before it. However, I am sure people have had horrifying experiences with Ebay. So, please tell me what is your worst experience on Ebay.

One afternoon, I was walking home and I saw a gang of kids, aging between 12-15 years old, they were terrorizing this elderly man, who I guess to be in his 70's. I saw what had happen to start the fight. A girl was playing around with her friends and accidentally ran in to the elderly man. Instead of apologizing, she proceeding to shove him and yell at him. The words that came out of her mouth, she had a gutter mouth. Her friends joined in and started taunting him. I stepped in and pulled the man away. He quickly scrambled away. The next thing I know, this gang of kids cursed at me, used racial slur and took jabs at my face. This is a fine example of a mob mentality. I wish this was an isolated incident but it isn't. I was born and raised in New York City. With the exception of going off to college, I lived in NYC all my life. I noticed more and more of these wild teenagers. They gather together and form a gang. They terrorize people on the streets. They curse physically assault and sexually assault people on the streets, trains...just about anywhere. They have this attitude of entitlement that they can do whatever they want wherever they want. When I was a kid, this behavior was unheard of. BTW, I'm in my 40's. What happened? Why is there such a moral decline in teenagers these days. I'll admit that these teenagers mostly come from low income families and are ethnic minorities. But, money can't explain it all because I've seen rich kids do the same thing.

A little over a week ago, Pastor Terry Jones and congregation burned a Koran. Their actions resulted in several riots in the Middle East, in particular Afghanistan. There was a loss of life. It has been said that the vast majority of Muslims are not religious fanatics or extremists. In fact, they condemn the actions of such extremists who commit acts of terrorism. In the same vein, do most Americans condemn the actions of Terry Jones?

Roughly a week ago, Pastor Terry Jones and his congregation burn a copy of the Koran. Initially, both international and local news stations in Afghanistan played down the event. Sadly, news of the Koran burning did reach the ears of the Afghan people and lead to several riots in Afghanistan. There was lose of life on both sides, rioters and defenders. The U.N. complex in Mazar-i-Sharif was attack and 7 international staff members were killed. How should the U.S. government respond to Jones' action? Prior to this event, the government was making head way in gaining the trust of the Afghan people and the government. Now, those gains have been lost. In addition, the Taliban has used the event to rally more support. Should Jones decide to hold another book burning, what should the local government do, if anything?

Recently, Jared Lougher, was arrested for murder and attempted assassination of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Why was it necessary to assign him a special public defender, Judy Clarke? My understanding is she has defended homegrown domestic terrorist like the Unabomber and Timothy McVeigh. Why the special treatment?

I am looking for a Vista compatible program which works like DVD Shrink (i.e. shrink a movie to a size which can be burnt on to a single layered DVD blank). Free programs.

As many of you know, a New York judge has ruled in the favor of the 3 policemen and acquitted them of all charges brought against them. Do you believe justice was served? Do you agree with the judge's decision?