State Department Evacuates U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Libya

Another Barack Obama foreign policy failure …

CNN is reporting that the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Libya has been evacuated due to the escalating militia violence raging out of control. According to news reports, about 150 personnel, including 80 U.S. Marines were evacuated from the embassy and were driven across the border into Tunisia under the protection of F-16,  MV-22 Osprey aircraft and drone patrol from above. The only option was to drive the embassy officials out as the Tripoli airport had been shut down due to the violence. The removal of the US Embassy staff took place without incident.  As reported at the BBC, It is the second time in more than three years that the US has closed its embassy in Libya. The state department has also urged US nationals not to go to Libya.

VIDEO – NBC News

The U.S. Embassy in Libya evacuated its personnel on Saturday because of heavy militia violence raging in the capital, Tripoli, the State Department said.

About 150 personnel, including 80 U.S. Marines were evacuated from the embassy in the early hours of Saturday morning and were driven across the border into Tunisia, U.S. officials confirm to CNN.

U.S. officials stress that this is a relocation of embassy personnel and the operations have been “temporarily suspended” until “the security situation on the ground improves.” The embassy will continue to operate from other locations.

A senior State Department official said some of the staff from Libya will be sent to other U.S. embassies in the region and others will come back to Washington.

VIDEO – CNN

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said that security and safety are a top priority and come first. Really? Also, while there appeared to be no direct threat of an attack against the embassy, it was the rising violence in Libya between the battling factions of warlords for control that caused the evacuation.  Too bad the Obama administration and State Department did not take the same precautions in Benghazi, Libya when violence was escalating and the US Ambassador Chris Stevens asked for more security.

“Securing our facilities and ensuring the safety of our personnel are top Department priorities, and we did not make this decision lightly. Security has to come first. Regrettably, we had to take this step because the location of our embassy is in very close proximity to intense fighting and ongoing violence between armed Libyan factions.

Militia fighting in the area of the embassy and airport has degraded security in Tripoli significantly.

Secretary of State John Kerry called upon various factions to engage in a political process, saying “the current course of violence would only bring chaos.” Good grief, are you kidding? That’s the Obama’s administration’s response?

Florida Jury Awards $23.6 Billion to Widow of Michael Johnson in Smoking Lawsuit Against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company … What Happened to Personal Responsibility?

Sorry, I am no fan of the cigarette industry, but I am one of personal responsibility. I generally cannot stand the smell of cigarette smoke and don’t understand why anyone even uses them, but this jury verdict is absurd and needs to be overturned by appeal.

An Escambia County, Florida jury awarded the widow of of a 36 year old man who died of lung cancer $23.6 million. The verdict included more than $16 million in compensatory damages. Cynthia Robinson claimed that smoking killed her husband, Michael Johnson, in 1996 at the age of 36 after he had smoked from the age of 13. The widow stated that R.J. Reynolds was negligent in not informing him that nicotine is addictive and smoking can cause lung cancer. The lawyer for the plaintiff’s said that because of the juror’s age, he had to shoe how the tobacco industry presented its product before the public awareness campaigns on tobacco risks and dangers in the 1990′s. HUH? Robinson’s attorneys, Christopher Chestnut also went on to say, “The jury wanted to send a statement that tobacco cannot continue to lie to the American people and the American government about the addictiveness of and the deadly chemicals in their cigarettes.” HUH?

A Florida jury awarded a widow $23.6 billion in punitive damages in her lawsuit against tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, her lawyer said.

Cynthia Robinson claimed that smoking killed her husband, Michael Johnson, in 1996. She argued R.J. Reynolds was negligent in not informing him that nicotine is addictive and smoking can cause lung cancer. Johnson started smoking when he was 13 and died of lung cancer when he was 36.

The jury award Friday evening is “courageous,” said Robinson’s lawyer, Christopher Chestnut.

“If anyone saw the documents that this jury saw, I believe that person would have awarded a similar or greater verdict amount,” he said.

The Escambia County trial took four weeks and the jury deliberated for 15 hours, according to the Pensacola News Journal. The verdict included more than $16 million in compensatory damages, the newspaper said.

Chestnut said five of the six jurors who heard the case were 45 or younger, which meant he had to show them how the tobacco industry presented its product before the public awareness campaigns on tobacco risks and dangers in the 1990s, he said.

Okay, let’s do the math for the obviously challenged Florida jury. I guess this one might be as clueless as the Florida jury that deliberated in the Casey Anthony murder case. For 50 years we have been warned that smoking is hazardous to our health, where was Michael Johnson during that time?

FIRST … WHO DOES NOT KNOW THAT CIGARETTES ARE HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH AND CAUSE LUNG CANCER?

United States was the first nation to require a health warning on cigarette packages.

Now for the numbers.

1. Michael Johnson died in 1996 at the age of 36 from lung cancer.
2. This means the deceased would have been born in 1960.
3. Johnson would have begun smoking in 1973 as the story above states he began smoking at the age of 13.
4. WHAT PARENT ALLOWS THEIR CHILD TO SMOKE AT THE AGE OF 13?
5. All 50 states bad laws banning sales to minors by 1950. The most common age of restriction for cigarettes and tobacco products today applies to persons under the age of 18. In an effort to ensure stricter enforcement 11 states have lowered the age of restriction from 21 to 15 (Tobacco Merchants Association, 1971: 1-2).
6. The smoking age was 18 meaning for 5 years the decease was breaking the law and smoking as a minor. Who’s fault was that?
7. In 2006 Florida state Supreme Court tossed out a $145 billion class-action verdict. That ruling also said smokers and their families need only prove addiction and that smoking caused their illnesses or deaths.
8. In 2008 on behalf of her late husband, Michael Johnson Sr.
9. 2014 a Florida jury awards $23.6 billion in punitive damages in a lawsuit against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco.

Now for some more relevant numbers.

• On June 12, 1957, Surgeon General Leroy E. Burney declared it the official position of the U.S. Public Health Service that the evidence pointed to a causal relationship between smoking and lung cancer.
• The 1964 report on smoking and health had an impact on public attitudes and policy. A Gallup Survey conducted in 1958 found that only 44 percent of Americans believed smoking caused cancer, while 78 percent believed so by 1968. In the course of a decade, it had become common knowledge that smoking damaged health, and mounting evidence of health risks gave Terry’s 1964 report public resonance.
• The Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1965 (Public Law 89–92) required that the warning “Caution: Cigarette Smoking May Be Hazardous to Your Health” be placed in small print on one of the side panels of each cigarette package. The act prohibited additional labeling requirements at the federal, state, or local levels.
• In June 1967 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its first report to Congress recommending that the warning label be changed to “Warning: Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous to Health and May Cause Death from Cancer and Other Diseases.”
• In 1969 Congress passed the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act (Public Law 91–222), which prohibited cigarette advertising on television and radio and required that each cigarette package contain the label “Warning: The Surgeon General Has Determined That Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous to Your Health.”
• In 1981 Congress enacted the Comprehensive Smoking Education Act of 1984 (Public Law 98–474), which required four specific health warnings on all cigarette packages and advertisements:SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, and May Complicate Pregnancy.
      SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Quitting Smoking Now Greatly Reduces Serious Risks to Your Health.
      SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Smoking by Pregnant Women May Result in Fetal Injury, Premature Birth, and Low Birth Weight.
      SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Cigarette Smoke Contains Carbon Monoxide.

I am of the belief that if cigarette tobacco is so bad, then make them illegal to use. Otherwise, it is just a way of the local, state and federal government making tax money off of lung cancer. It is an individual’s choice to smoke. Sorry folks, unless you were born prior to 1965 or your terminal lung cancer occurred prior to then, you have no one to blame but yourself. For nearly 50 years there have been warning labels on cigarette packages.

EXACTLY HOW MANY WARNINGS DOES ONE NEED BEFORE THEY REALIZE THAT SOMETHING IS HAZARDOUS TO THEIR HEALTH?

Secretary of State John Kerry Caught on Hot Mic Comment About Israel … “It’s a Hell of a Pinpoint Operation”

Once again the Obama administration treats it’s allies with condemnation … Kerry was for saying it was an Israel hell of a pinpoint operation, before he was against it.

Secretary of State John Kerry was caught on a hot mic during this Sunday morning’s round robin of talk shows with some interesting and blunt remarks as a condemnation of Israeli tactics Kerry said on the open mic, . “It’s a hell of a pinpoint operation” not once but twice.”The Washington Post’s reports:

Kerry’s comments are clear. “It’s a hell of a pinpoint operation,” he says, then repeats it. “It’s a hell of a pinpoint operation.” It’s an apparent reference to Israel’s insistence that its incursion into the region would be limited. “It’s escalating significantly,” the person on the phone replies, and Kerry then says: “We’ve got to get over there. I think we ought to go tonight.” He then calls it “crazy” to be “sitting around.”

Sec. of State Kerry was asked by Chris Wallace on ‘Fox News Sunday’ what he meant by his comments. As reported at Powerline, In an unusual moment during Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace presented Secretary of State John Kerry with video recorded before he came on air and asked Kerry whether he thought that Israel went too far? Let the double talk begin.

“When you said it’s a hell of a pinpoint operation,” Wallace asked, are you “upset that the Israelis are going too far?”

“It’s very difficult in these situations,” Kerry said, repeating that the United States supports Israel’s right to defend itself. He then explained his comments by saying, “I reacted, obviously, in a way that anybody does in respect to young children and civilians.”

Sean Hannity Blasts President Barack Obama in Blistering Monologue … ‘It’s Time for a Wake-Up Call’ … “It Is Time for You to Get Engaged.”

BARACK OBAMA, ITS TIME TO LEAD, NOT DIVIDE …

Last night Sean Hannity blasted Barack Obama in a blistering monologue begging, asking and demanding that this president ‘WAKE UP” and get engaged in the turmoil in both domestic and foreign policy. Much of which Obama has no one to blame but himself. Although he will try and pass the buck. It is becoming evident that Obama is the “Bystander” in Chief and refuses to step up to the plate and lead. But instead Obama attends fundraisers, plays golf and goes on vacation to Martha’s Vineyard.

Hannity stated that our world is in an alarming state of emergency, between Israel’s ground war into Gaza to protect itself from Hamas, Malaysia flight ML17 blown out of the sky in an unspeakable act killing innocent men, women and children, ISIS on the rise, Al-Qaeda on the move, the Middle East on fire, Russia and Putin flexing its muscles, Obama administration scandals like IRS-gate and Benghazi-gate, and a US domestic policy of out of control national debt and a discouraged work force. Let us not forget the crisis we have on our Southern border caused by Obama’s lack of protecting or borders. Then there is that Obamacare thing.

Hannity said, “It is shocking to see a president of the United States, the free world, with such a lack of urgency and priorities. So I say to the president tonight: It is time for action, it’s time for urgency. It is time for you to get engaged.” Hannity went on to say, “Mr. President for you to stand up. It is time for you to lead. It’s time to skip for once your lavish million dollar Marha’s Vineyard vacation. It’s time for you to put down those golf clubs. I thing 180 rounds of gold is quite enough. It is time for you to lead by example. [...] You need to spend more time in The Oval Office. You need to be in the Situation Room. You may be surprised to learn what has actually happened in the six years since you have become the leader of the free world.”

Click HERE to watch VIDEO

The Blaze:

“It is shocking to see a president of the United States, the free world, with such a lack of urgency and priorities,” Hannity said. “So I say to the president tonight: It is time for action, it’s time for urgency. It is time for you to get engaged.”

Hannity then skewered the president over his handling of domestic matters.

“Mr. President, why don’t you consider the events of these past 24 hours to be a very, very costly and deadly wake up call,” Hannity said. “And while all this was happening yesterday, you spent 40 seconds dealing with the killing of nearly 300 innocent people and for your secretary of state to tell Israel to restrain itself again and again. It’s time for a wakeup call.

What a Coincidence, Another Hard Drive Crash … This Time It’s April Sands, a Former Employee at the Federal Election Commission who Resigned After Admitting to Violating the Hatch Act Promoting Obama’s Re-election in 2012 .

HMM, ANOTHER CONVENIENT HARD DRIVE CRASH,  I AM STARTING TO SENSE A PATTERN … AND LOW AND BEHOLD A LINK TO LOIS LERNER …

Democrat playbook, page 7, paragraph 2, subsections 6: When caught committing a crime and perpetrating a fraud upon the American people, destroy your hard drive.

April Sands was a Federal Election Commission lawyer before she resigned earlier this year and accepted a ban on holding government jobs until 2016. Sands resigned after admitting to violating The Hatch Act, which prohibits government workers from advocating for candidates while on the job. Just curious, is there any government agency that did not violate the Hatch Act and promote Obama’s 2012 reelection? However, Sands escaped prosecution as her computer hard drive “mysteriously” crashed  and was recycled by the FEC before any evidence could be recovered. Hmm, haven’t we heard this one before? As former NY Yankee MLB great Yogi Bearra would say, “it’s deja vu all over again”. Can you say Lois Lerner? Funny Lois Lerner’s name is mentioned as Lerner, who has a case of her own missing emails and hard drive crash was Sands’ supervisor until 2001. you just can’t make this stuff up.

Just curious, is there any governmental agency that backs up data?

It’s becoming very evident that the 2012 presidential election may have been the greatest case of voter fraud ever in American history. Sorry, just one too many coincidences.

issaFEC

The Blaze:

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) on Monday made yet another request to the federal government for details about a crashed hard drive that may have contained information allowing criminal charges to be brought against a federal official.

Issa’s newest letter concerns the hard drive of April Sands, a former employee at the Federal Election Commission who resigned in the spring after admitting to violations of the Hatch Act. That law puts restrictions on the ability of government officials to conduct political activities while on the job, or from government offices.

Issa noted that while Sands admitted to violating the law, the FEC just recently told Congress that it could not recover her hard drive, which made it impossible to seek criminal charges against her.

“Recent information obtained by the committee suggests that the FEC OIG could not pursue criminal prosecution for the misconduct because the attorney’s hard drive had been recycled by the FEC,” Issa’s letter said.

As a result, Issa asked the FEC to provide information to his committee by July 28. That includes all documents related to the hard drive loss, and documents detailing the FEC’s practices for retaining information on computers.

The FEC is an independent agency, but Sands’ emails clearly indicated she favored Obama’s re-election in 2012. Before the election, she tweeted things like:

“Our #POTUS’s birthday is August 4. He’ll be 51. I’m donating at least $51 to give him the best birthday present ever: a second term.” In another tweet, she said anyone supporting Republicans is her “enemy.”

I guess this is just another phony scandal.

UPDATE I: More from Town Hall, It sounds like they have found there to be one too many coincidences as well ….  Lerner Associate: “I Don’t Understand How Anyone But Straight White Men Can Vote Republican”

Which brings us to the case of April Sands, an employee at the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), who struck a deal with the agency’s Inspector General to avoid criminal charges related to running afoul of the Hatch Act on numerous occasions. She has openly confessed to breaching federal law as part of her effective plea bargain, but investigators were unable to probe a potential goldmine of incriminating activity: Her email. Why? You guessed it; her hard drive crashed, supposedly wiping out her email records, and resulting in the FEC recycling (i.e., destroying) the hard drive. Sounds familiar. Did I mention that Ms. Sands worked under Lois Lerner when Lerner served as the agency’s Associate General Counsel for Enforcement? Lots of coincidences and similarities, no?

UPDATE II: Interview with Lou Dobbs discussing the amazing coincidences of corrupt government employee hard drive crashes.